Chen Ci took a final look at the chat history with Chen Nian and closed the conversation box.
K41 was in much better condition after receiving a blood transfusion yesterday, and the doctors performed surgery on it in the evening.
Now, a whole day has passed and it has recovered well and looks much better.
The pet hospital is located in the research institute. The doctors have superb skills. The incision on K41's head is very small and only requires two stitches. It will heal soon.
Chen Nian touched the beagle's chin through the cage. The puppy rested its head on his palm obediently, with a wet nose.
From now on, you will be called Dacongming. Chen Ci said silently in his heart: This is the name my younger brother gave you, and he will also be your other master.
To be honest, it was really a coincidence that I met Lu Heng the day before yesterday.
He even took photos of them, but Chen Ci was not too worried. He believed that Chen Nian and Shafley could handle it. Besides, no one could guess that he and Chen Nian were actually twins.
But for safety reasons, he and Fu Tianhe had to leave the area as soon as possible.
This morning, Lu Heng went back to the top floor to look for trouble with Chen Nian. It can be said that he failed to gain anything and suffered a heavy loss instead. When he recovers, he will definitely go crazy and look for his whereabouts again.
Fu Tianhe, who had gone out shopping, came back at this time.
He threw a can of Coke to Chen Ci, who caught it and held it in his hand for the time being, then said to Fu Tianhe, "Let's give Da Congming a bath and go somewhere else."
"What?" Fu Tianhe was stunned. "Great and smart?"
Alpha looked at the beagle in the incubator and understood: "Ah, is this the name you gave it?"
Chen Ci nodded.
Although it was a bit strange, it was fine. Fu Tianhe quickly accepted this reality. After all, this was the dog that Chen Ci wanted to adopt, so he could call the dog whatever he wanted.
"It just had surgery yesterday. Is it okay to give it a bath now?"
Chen Ci: "I'll go ask the nurse. I just want to get out of here as soon as possible. We've already been delayed for two extra days at the institute."
Fu Tianhe also knew that Jiu Yue was a person who paid great attention to planning. In order to help Matchstick's camp, they delayed in the abandoned suburbs for a day. And because they adopted Da Congming and stayed in the institute, the subsequent travel plans would inevitably be postponed.
"You go and ask." Fu Tianhe did not take the initiative to take all the work on himself. Given Jiu Yue's introverted personality, it would be a good thing for him to communicate more with others.
Chen Ci came back soon.
"The nurse said that if you really want to wash it, you can. Its wound is relatively small. I don't know if it's because it was used as an experimental dog before, but it recovered very quickly. Let's wash it now."
Fu Tianhe nodded, and the two of them and the nurse let Da Congming out, tied a leash around its neck, and took it to take a bath.
It was the first time that Da Congming took a bath since he was born. He was a little scared when he heard the sound of water. He squatted in the corner of the pool, his fur was wet, and the water that flowed down was dirty gray-black.
The first time the shampoo was applied by the shampoo technician, it didn't even foam.
Chen Ci and Fu Tianhe stood aside. With the company of familiar people, Da Congming could relax more.
The hair is wet and no longer fluffy, and the dog's true shape and condition are revealed.
It was too thin, almost like a skeleton covered with a layer of skin. It was weighed before the operation and was only 16 kilograms, not even as heavy as a fat cat, far below the standard.
The shampooer washed Da Congming three times before the foam gradually came out. It gradually adapted to the warm water flow, washed its entire body clean, and then applied hair conditioner.
The nanny turned off the shower and used a towel to wipe off the water on the dog's body. Da Congming did not actively shake off his fur like other dogs, but let the nanny wipe his body.
After that, I blow dry the hair, trim the hair on the soles of the feet, cut the nails and clean the ears.
He was as obedient as a fake dog throughout the whole process.
The wounds that Fu Tianhe had previously removed the stitches from had actually healed, and new hair would soon cover the pink flesh.
More than an hour later, Chen Ci held Da Congming in his arms and felt like he had got a new dog.
No more lingering stink.
"Beagles' ears are relatively large and cover the entire ear canal, which makes it easy for bacteria to grow and produce odor, so you must pay attention to cleaning them on a regular basis, otherwise it will easily have a smell," the nurse told them.
Fu Tianhe thanked the nurse and went to the front desk to pay the bill. Together with the postoperative infusion and other nursing expenses, he spent several thousand Auggies in total.
Fortunately, he got a huge sum of money from selling the mechanical core before, otherwise he would be in great pain now.
The two of them left the pet store holding Da Congming. Chen Ci fumbled in his pocket, took out a new mask and handed it to Fu Tianhe.
Fu Tianhe took it and said, "Ah, do I have to wear it too? Why?"
Chen Ci did not explain, but just said: "Wear it."
Well, Fu Tianhe accepted the reality smoothly, just regarded it as a gift from Chen Ci, and put on the mask on his face.
Hmm, I feel a little suffocated.
No one should be able to recognize them now.
Walking out of the store and onto the bustling street at night, Da Congming was still a little scared. Seeing this, Chen Ci bent down and held it in his arms.
Fu Tianhe: "Shen? Do you want me to come?"
Chen Ci shook his head: "Nothing."
Fu Tianhe was walking on the way back to the hotel, with Chen Ci holding Da Congming beside him. It always felt like they were a couple holding a child.
They always say "dog son, dog son", there is nothing wrong with his association, right? It's not because he feels that walking with Jiu Yue is particularly warm that he thinks so!
Back at the hotel, Chen Ci said to Fu Tianhe in the elevator: "Let's pack our luggage and go to the farm now."
"Now? So urgent."
"Well, I don't want to waste any more time." Chen Ci did not tell him about Lu Heng.
Fortunately, Fu Tianhe didn’t think too much about it. He agreed and went to pack up.
It took less than forty minutes from packing up and checking out to taking the central elevator to the farm below the laboratory.
Chen Ci specifically found a hotel that allowed pets, and the two checked in and put down their backpacks.
The farm is definitely the best greening area in the dungeon. Like the production workshop, it has external wall hangings, but it is larger in area and extends out across the entire ground for growing crops and grazing.
But most crops and livestock are raised indoors. The entire farm is known for its extremely high resource utilization rate. Hundreds of millions of organisms grow in this not particularly large area.
After settling down, Chen Ci and Fu Tianhe took Da Congming out. They had to slowly let the puppy adapt to the outside world.
Chen Ci held the dog leash and asked Da Congming to walk slowly. They were not in a hurry and just strolled in this lively environment.
Greenhouses can be seen everywhere, with plants growing layer upon layer. Artificial light provides them with the energy they need, and the concentration of gases such as carbon dioxide is always maintained at the most suitable growth level, allowing crops to mature as quickly as possible.
In this day and age, farmers have become one of the most noble professions. Whether Beacon will fall into a food crisis depends on them.
The two passed by greenhouses and came to a park that was considered a hub. Many people took a walk there after dinner.
They walked quite a distance and rested temporarily on a bench by the roadside.
I heard people chatting at the fitness equipment behind me.
They were two middle-aged men, with sturdy builds and wearing work clothes. They were probably farmers or technicians here. They were talking excitedly and their voices were quite loud.
"That's a 1.3-meter-long radish. Seeing its roots huddled together, it looks like a spirit."
"If it hadn't been bought by Donald, it would have been presented as a tribute to the royal family, right?"
"The royal family probably wouldn't appreciate it," the man on the right laughed. "They prefer luxurious and rare species. What's the point of an ordinary radish that has grown into a giant?"
"But Donald is really something. He has collected so many things. I heard that there must be thousands of items, including many giant crops. Where does he keep them?"
"Let's not worry about the rich. If they can spend a lot of money to buy something, they must have a place to put it. Maybe they have several mansions."
"Yeah, I heard he even got a chimera."
"Isn't that something that only the military can use?"
"Who says it's not true? But with Donald's ability, it's not surprising that he got it."
Hearing the word "chimera", Fu Tianhe turned around subconsciously, and even the words he had been listening to casually became serious.
Fu Tianhe and Chen Ci looked at each other.
There's no chance of getting this stuff from research institutes or the military, but if there's a private collection, maybe I could give it a try?
Based on the principle that it wouldn't hurt to ask, Fu Tianhe stood up and walked over to the two farmers.
"My two brothers, I was just sitting on the chair over there to rest. Did I hear you talking about Mr. Donald?"
Fu Tianhe took a different approach. He did not ask about the chimera directly, but introduced it from the key figures.
Based on what the two said, he could roughly guess the image of this Donald: a collector who was not short of money and often collected all kinds of rare and exotic items.
"I came here from out of town specifically to visit Mr. Donald and see his collection, but I've only heard a few stories about him before, and I'm sure I don't know as much as you two brothers. Can you tell me a little more?"
Fu Tianhe had a very good attitude and looked very likable. The matter concerning Donald was not a secret, so the two farmers naturally told him about it.
"Is his reputation known outside the area? I thought he was only familiar to people here on the farm."
"Donald started collecting all kinds of things about 20 years ago. At first, he liked to get some expensive items, but later he didn't care about the value. The weirder the things were, the more he liked them.
"For example, our farm just grew a particularly large giant radish last week. If it was just an ordinary radish, it would be fine, but that radish looked like a child, as if it had become a spirit. When Donald found out, he immediately bought the radish."
"Is that so?" Fu Tianhe silently took note of the key point of "the weirder the better". If they wanted to get the chimera from Donald, it would be impossible to ask him directly for it. The most feasible way would probably be to exchange something with him.
That thing must be something that Donald doesn't have and wants very much.
Fu Tianhe came up with an idea: "We have some very novel things on hand, but we are not sure about their value. Since Mr. Donald has so many collections, he should be very good at making value judgments. Can you two brothers tell me Mr. Donald's contact information? I promise not to disturb you without permission."
"No problem." The man on the left agreed immediately, "His contact information is no secret. Many people on the farm know it. If they grow anything weird, they will contact Donald first.
"I'll give you his email address. You can email him directly. His assistant will see it and reply."
"Thank you so much."
Fu Tianhe opened the terminal and wrote down the email address the man told him.
Fu Tianhe got the news and returned to the bench. Seeing this, Chen Ci stood up and took Da Congming and left together.
The two walked around and returned to the hotel.
"I never expected to hear about chimeras here. We spent so much time asking around in the production workshop, and now we get it without any effort."
Fu Tianhe couldn't help but sigh. He sat cross-legged on the floor, searching for news about Donald.
In short, Donald is a somewhat eccentric collector.
He came from a wealthy family and was well-known among the upper and middle classes in Cinnabar. Just as the two peasant brothers had said, he loved collecting all kinds of strange things, such as two-headed cows, three-eyed sheep, strawberries as big as basketballs, six-legged chickens, and other rarities.
The middle-aged man in the photo has flowing golden hair, a smiling face, and his collar is exposed.
Chen Ci's comment: "He looks like a weirdo."
Fu Tianhe agreed.
The way was there, but how to get the chimera became the biggest problem.
"Maybe we can exchange it for something else, but we don't have anything that can attract Donald."
Fu Tianhe was in a dilemma. He had excellent engineering and mechanical skills and could make many interesting gadgets, but in his opinion, none of them were weird enough.
Donald is well-informed and ordinary things will definitely not attract him.
Chen Ci was also thinking. He had heard about many rare treasures on the top floor before, but he had no interest in them. He never thought that there would be a day when he would need them.
The two fell into deep thought.
"Forget it, I'll just make something small."
Fu Tianhe raised his hand and rubbed his forehead: "It may take a day. After it is done, I will contact him."
"What are you going to do?" Chen Ci asked.
"You'll know once it's done." Fu Tianhe laughed and kept it a secret, "I'll go get ready. You should go to bed early today."
The next morning, Fu Tianhe went to the nearby market and bought a lot of things. Then he hid in his room and played drums all day long. Even his meals were brought to him by Chen Ci.
When delivering the meal, Chen Ci took a quick look and saw an ordinary metal box on the table with some mechanical components and a few mechanical cores scattered around it.
Chen Ci could have used his mental power to investigate in detail what Fu Tianhe was busy with, but he didn't.
If one knew everything clearly, the world would become very boring. This is why Chen Ci rarely uses his mental power on weekdays.
In the evening, Fu Tianhe knocked on Chen Ci's door. He came in mysteriously wrapped in a coat. There was a square outline bulging on his chest, and it was obvious that he had hidden something in his clothes.
Fu Tianhe turned around and closed the door, walked to the bed, squatted down, opened his coat to both sides, and placed the things on Chen Ci's bed.
"Are you done?" Chen Ci asked.
"Yeah." Fu Tianhe nodded, his excitement hard to conceal between his brows.
It was a rectangular brass box, carved with very delicate and simple patterns. One side of the box was equipped with a rocker. Chen Ci picked it up and weighed it; it was quite heavy.
He opened the lid of the box and found four circular grooves arranged in a square.
Other than that, there's nothing special.
"What is this?" he asked.
"It's just a little gadget." Fu Tianhe chuckled proudly. "It's not convenient to tell you yet. I've already sent an email. If Donald wants to see it, we can take it to see him. Then you'll know."
As calm as Chen Ci was, he also aroused a little curiosity.
What could it be?
After a busy whole day, Fu Tianhe was tired. After showing his masterpiece to Chen Ci, he put on his clothes and went for a walk with Omega.
On the way back, Fu Tianhe's terminal vibrated.
He quickly checked the message, his brows lit up with joy, it was indeed a reply email from Donald.
The assistant replied that Donald was very interested in his gadgets, and if convenient, they could bring their things and meet him at Donald's house at nine o'clock tomorrow morning.
Chen Ci didn't expect it to actually work. What on earth did Fu Tianhe do?
"Then we will go together and try to exchange the chimera." Fu Tianhe discussed the plan with Chen Ci, "You just need to pretend to be a tough guy who doesn't talk much, and leave the introduction to me."
"Okay." Chen Ci nodded. He suddenly felt that it was a good thing to have someone worrying about him.
After coming to the underground city, he was used to arranging everything by himself, but this was the first time he listened to all the arrangements made by Fu Tianhe.
The two of them made the best possible preparations, went to bed early after returning, and early the next morning, they took the things made by Fu Tianhe and went to the address given in the email.
Donald's house is in the vivarium.
As the name suggests, this is where the beacon preserves species diversity and genetic diversity.
Large gene banks preserve samples of all life on Earth that has ever existed, and some rare species are raised in pairs to ensure they do not become extinct.
From the beginning of time, mankind still holds on to the last hope that maybe one day the flood will recede, the beacon will exist as an ark, and they will return to the land and live like they did thousands of years ago.
Chen Ci and Fu Tianhe did not look for a new home in the ecological tank, but came directly from the farm area, so that if any unexpected situation occurred, they could leave quickly.
Fu Tianhe also rented a luxury car specially for the trip.
As per his request, Chen Ci sat in the back seat. The Alpha's intention was obvious, Chen Ci needed to pretend to be a rich kid. The Omega wore the same rented clothes. The shirt and vest outlined the boy's relatively slender but not skinny figure, making him look more noble.
In the words of Fu Tianhe, Chen Ci has an innate nobility that is difficult to imitate.
Fu Tianhe was also wearing a suit and sitting in the driver's seat, acting as the driver and henchman of Master Chen Ci.
"Although we are the ones who bring the things to see him, we can't lose our momentum." Fu Tianhe said with his hands on the steering wheel.
"Can you drive?" Chen Ci asked.
"I don't have a license, but I can drive." Before Fu Tianhe finished speaking, he stepped on the accelerator.
The engine roared and the car sped away.
In short, Fu Tianhe drove the car to Donald's residence, and a servant came over immediately. Fu Tianhe got out of the car first, walked around the front, and opened the back door for Chen Ci.
When his feet touched the road again, Chen Ci felt a little dizzy.
He raised his head and looked silently at the European-style mansion in front of him.
This is almost a mansion built in a garden of curiosities, with tall tropical plants growing out of the back yard, making the humidity and temperature of this small area different from other places.
"Mr. Nine?" The butler came over with a smile on his face. "Mr. Donald is already waiting for you two."
Chen Ci nodded, his expression was calm and indifferent, he was not surprised by this luxurious mansion at all. Fu Tianhe asked him to pretend to be a big boss or a noble, but he didn't know that Chen Ci himself was one, he just needed to show his original appearance.
Fu Tianhe followed behind Chen Ci carrying a suitcase, being his dutiful follower.
Fu Tianhe specially bought a leather box so that the packaging could reflect the true value of the items inside. The box was very expensive and Fu Tianhe felt the pinch for a long time when he paid for it.
The two walked through the hall and along the luxurious corridor. The entire mansion had been converted into an exhibition room, with all kinds of strange and bizarre things. Even Chen Ci couldn't help but take a few more glances at some of them, such as the strange yam in the shape of the Five Finger Mountain on the left.
But no matter what he saw, Chen's words were always indifferent, as if he had seen many more strange and bizarre things.
The butler led the two people to a room at the end of the corridor.
He opened the door and said respectfully to the man sitting on the soft leather sofa: "Sir, the guest has been brought in."
Mr. Donald looked up.
His neck was covered in a layer of metal that extended to his collarbone and was hidden by his collar, connecting his head and torso. The ankle that was exposed from his left leg through his trousers was also made of metal.
This is a person with prosthetic body.
Installing mechanical prostheses is not a new technology, but after the emergence of primitive creatures, humans began to doubt this technology.
After all, those marine creatures showed high-intensity aggressiveness and predatory nature after combining with machines. Nowadays, no one dares to use mechanical prostheses. Chen Nian has seen many disabled soldiers in the Veterans Affairs Hospital. They are all using prosthetic limbs made of high-tech materials, just like in the past.
Donald had fluffy blond hair and was slightly plump. He had a warm smile on his face and sat on the sofa in a relaxed manner. He said to the two of them:
"Please take a seat. I am Donald Joseph. You can call me Mr. Donald, or like everyone else, call me the Collector."
Chen Ci silently used his mental power to scan the entire room. There were many Alpha bodyguards in places they couldn't see. Outside the floor-to-ceiling windows was a courtyard with lush vegetation.
There are actually quite a few agencies inside.
"I've heard of Mr. Donald's name for a long time." Fu Tianhe said with a smile, "Master Jiu and I are from the abandoned suburbs. We recently accidentally got some interesting gadgets from scavengers, and I think Mr. Donald might be interested."
"Oh?" Donald crossed his hands, placed them on his abdomen, and made a curious sound at the right time.
But instead of paying attention to the suitcase in Fu Tianhe's hand, his gaze paused and stayed on Alpha's face.
To be precise, it was on Fu Tianhe's golden prosthetic eye.