The Lost Tomb : Sea Of Sands

Chapter 163: Group 207

"Group 207 is a place for people who are important, but less talented." Wang Xiaoyuan looked at his evaluation report and explained to him: "It's good. At least they admit that you're very important."

"How many rating levels are there?" Li Cu asked, wondering if there were any levels below "low".

Wang Xiaoyuan read his mind and said, "People with low scores will generally continue to train; it's the same as when you fail. But you're obviously special. They don't have time to wait for you to pass, so they put you directly into Group 207. I'll help you find someone who matches your personality so they can help you. Well, with your personality, I think they'll find a responsible person with strong principles to help you. This person will be very patient, have a very good temper, understand worldly affairs, and be able to interpret your emotions."

"It feels like they're trying to help me find a good husband." Li Cu said. Women often wanted to find such a person, but they ended up falling in love with the opposite.

Wang Xiaoyuan looked at Li Cu's report and nodded. "That's right. If you change the point of view and terminology of your assessment, it's very similar to princess sickness [1]." Wang Xiaoyuan gasped: "Speaking of which, you're really not a woman, are you?"

Li Cu raised his fingers: "I didn't pay this price to have you spit on me."

"Then what are you doing this for? Or do you really love me?" Wang Xiaoyuan smiled and added, "Princess?"

Li Cu sighed and said, "Actually, I think there's something I need to tell you. I don't plan to choose you when I have to choose a partner."

Wang Xiaoyuan paused and said, "No, you'll definitely choose me."

"No, I won't choose you." Li Cu said: "I'm sorry. I don't know your purpose, and as you can see, I'm in a very bad situation. I have to think more about myself here."

Wang Xiaoyuan looked at him: "Why? It's not like it makes any difference to you. Besides, I think I'm a pretty girl. It's reason enough." Wang Xiaoyuan grabbed his hand and gave him a very convincing look: "I'll listen to you. You can do anything to me."

Li Cu felt that the delicate skin on the girl's hand was very comfortable, but he carefully pulled his broken fingers out of her grip and said, "I might be going through puberty, but I can still think with my upper body. I really can't choose you unless—"

"Unless what?"

He couldn't directly ask the question, because even if the girl had her own purpose, she was still one of them. Once his purpose was revealed, there was no chance of turning back.

"Unless—"

Li Cu's original plan was to ask her to get some books about latitude and longitude, as well as books on navigation and astronomical systems. He could give the general scope and have her bring all these books here. For example, all the books on natural science.

But he didn't have the patience. If he could be more precise, and say something like he wanted an adventure novel about sailing, then maybe he would be able to find this knowledge in there. But he didn't know if that was possible or not.

When it all came down to it, he couldn't say it. He still felt that there would be problems, especially because the logic didn't add up. He broke so many fingers and almost killed himself just to read books on natural science? He wasn't like Su Wan, who would do anything for an exam even if it meant castrating himself. It would definitely be too strange to make this kind of request.

Wang Xiaoyuan looked at him and asked eagerly, "Unless what?"

Li Cu said: "I can't tell you for the time being, but you really need to help me do something."

Wang Xiaoyuan looked at Li Cu, and her face suddenly fell. She grabbed Li Cu's broken finger and forcefully yanked it.

Li Cu woke up with a scream.

He felt a sharp pain in his hand and turned to see a doctor changing the dressing and fixing the splint. He had everything done in a few moments, but Li Cu still shouted, "Couldn't you wake me up first?"

"It's more painful if you're awake. I heard that you're a dangerous person. I don't want to talk to you too much." With that said, the doctor packed his things, turned around, and ran away.

Li Cu cursed his retreating back, and turned to look at the door like he did last night. He found that his wheelchair was beside the bed, and no one was sitting at the door.

He looked around, and noticed that a camera had been installed in one corner of the room.

Was Wang Xiaoyuan here last night, or did he hallucinate it all?

He was a little confused, and had trouble distinguishing the line between his dream and reality, which made him even more suspicious.

The pain in his hand kept him from sleeping anymore, so he looked out the window and saw the blue sky gradually brightening as the sun rose.

The sunshine here was very nice, and the climate was also very comfortable, which was completely different from Beijing. When the sun shone brightly every morning, he could always forget that he was going to be severely disabled.

At 7:30, Leader brought in breakfast and a computer tablet, and ate with him. There was a video on the tablet that Wang Xiaoyuan had recorded for him.

She was dressed all in black, and told Li Cu that she was working outside and couldn't come back to see him. They would be able to meet about half a month later, and she hoped he could wait for her patiently.

Li Cu watched it carefully three times. Wang Xiaoyuan was a weird girl, but she looked hesitant in the video, and her sentences were incoherent. What she was saying obviously wasn't true, but Li Cu wasn't sure.

"You're lying." Li Cu said to Leader.

"No, you can talk to her on the phone. Or you can ask my people to inform you of her situation in real time. We can even video chat with her in real time if you want to verify it." Leader said.

"When did she go out?"

"I don't know. It's a field mission, and they're in the mountains now. They'll contact us using satellite equipment." Leader said. He took a bite of his steamed bun, stared Li Cu in the eye, and said mockingly: "You can hurt yourself now, but I'll tell you that if you kill yourself, she won't have time to come back to see you."

"You're lying!" Li Cu said angrily.

Leader looked at him and said, "I already told you, you can hurt– or even kill– yourself, but you might as well verify whether I'm telling the truth or not before you do these things."

Li Cu gritted his teeth, but when he saw Leader's expression, he couldn't make a judgment, and ended up wavering.

Li Cu didn't know that all the things he had experienced were small tricks in the adult world, especially in bureaucracies. Leader picked up a big steamed bun and said, "I hope you've learned one thing: hurting yourself will only give you an emotional advantage, but it won't actually change anything. In the first confrontation, you played all your cards and exposed all your bottom lines. What else can you do now?" He slowly squeezed the steamed bun with his fist. "You're very tough, but I can make it so you hit cotton with every punch and drive yourself crazy. We're used to seeing our opponents wear down with time, after all. Even if you want to achieve your goal, it's useless. You're not sharp enough."

The steamed bun was split in two, and one half was handed to Li Cu. "In half a month's time, I can let you meet Wang Xiaoyuan. During this period, you might as well consider what I said."

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Note:

[1] Term used mostly in East Asia to describe a condition of narcissism, egocentrism and materialism in women, or "princess" behavior. Aka spoiled.