Living as a Salted Fish, No Snake on the Marshal's Wrist

Chapter 4: Let's Be Honest

The first time Taio Ru's world views were tested was when he woke up and found himself reborn as a worm.

The second was now. Learning that he wasn't a worm, but a snake. A snake this man could apparently not only talk to but hear as well.

Watching the snakes wiggle and move around chaotically in his grasp, Jun De was convinced of one thing. "This guy is an idiot." Despite his thoughts though he did not lower his guard and continued to wait for an answer.

"Who are you and why are you here?" Jun De reiterated his question once more.

"Eh!? Who? I am... no was Dr Chen Taio Ru. I don't know why I am here or how I got here. Before waking up in this body and this place I was leaving work. The last thing I remember was falling in the deep snow exhausted. I thought I died." Taio Ru said honestly.

He wasn't someone who liked to lie. He also understood that in the current situation the man holding him and asking him questions knew more. Being honest was his best recourse if he wanted to understand what was happening.

Noticing the strangeness in the snakes story Jun De sat down. He didn't release the small snake, but changed from holding it in his fist to letting it lay atop his palm more comfortably.

"What planet were you when this occurred?" Jun De asked.

"Planet? Naturally Earth. Where else could I have been?" Taio Ru said as he wrapped is body up into a small coil on the man's palm. His eyes innocently looking up at Jun De.

"Earth? That planet does not exist in this galaxy. I have also not heard of such a planet in the adjacent galaxies belonging to the federation or Zerg." Jun De explained as he tried to make sense of Taio Ru's words.

"Galaxy? Zerg? Wait is it possible you can travel through space and contact other galaxies and planets?" Taio Ru asked his eyes sparkling. He had a keen interest in space travel.

It was the reason he developed a new spaceship with the ability to successfully travel long distances in space and reach knew speeds while in his teens.

Unfortunately despite developing it, the government had no intention to allow him to travel on it. It was another one of his projects that once developed was taken from him, praised, and put to use for others benefits but not his own.

The sparkle in his eyes quickly changed to a depressing atmosphere the tip of his tail flopping down on Jun De's palm dejectedly.

"Are you not familiar with space travel?" Jun De asked. It wasn't impossible that some might never have experienced space travel. Many planets in the galaxies were less advanced than those in the empire. However to not be aware of space travel was improbable from Jun De's point of view.

"Mm. Space travel is not a foreign concept. But a spacecraft that could travel between planets without difficulty was only recently developed, while travelling to distant galaxies still an impossible dream. To successfully build the craft, the use of Little Sun was necessary to power the journey. When I died, Little Sun was only just completed.

Taio Ru said. The more he spoke with Jun De the more he understood that he was far from the Earth he knew.

"It has been over 100, 000 years since beastmen have developed the ability to travel and expand our reach throughout space." Jun De clarified Taio Ru's doubt with a single phrase. At the same time revealing another mysterious word.

"Beastmen? What are beastmen?" Taio Ru asked curiously.

Jun De was truly shocked by the question. "You are a beastman. In our galaxy there are two races; beastmen and the Zerg. Within the beastmen race are many clans I am from the Xiongmao clan. From the appearance of your beast form you should be from the Shé clan." He explained patiently.