The ultimate blue sea

Chapter 6- Cheng Weizhi

He finally looked at the old man huddled in the corner. The old man was raising his head slightly. He hadn't yet lowered the arms covering his head. He looked astonished. His eyes met Su Qing's, and Su Qing couldn't understand the complex expression in his aged eyes. He only hurriedly averted his gaze and raised his leg to kick the kneecap of the lunatic next to him, then rotated the chair and defiantly brought it down on the man's head.

This time the lunatic dodged, reaching up to make a fending off gesture over his head. A chair leg scraped his sleeve and left a mark. The corners of his eyes began to twitch, all the nerves in his face looking like they were going out of control. He yanked over the pole his companion behind him was holding. "Well, fuck, you're feeling full of yourself, aren't you!"

Su Qing shielded himself with the chair. Maybe the crappy chair was too crappy, or maybe this man's strength was too great. With a crash, the wooden chair broke into pieces.

Su Qing's elbows went weak, and a chair leg knocked heavily against his forehead, stunning him a little. Su Qing flared up again, thinking, Shit, my own dad never hit me, what the hell are you supposed to be?

When he got angry, his fear weakened significantly. Su Qing flung the wooden chair away and reached out to grab a big metal ladle from a pot. He brandished it like a mighty weapon.

He had meant to use some fake moves to fool the lunatics, like in a wuxia novel, and look for an opening to kill at one blow. Sadly, he didn't have a very good understanding of the notion of an "opening." He swung the ladle around for ages, and apart from getting rice all over the place, he gained nothing.

The three lunatics stood in a row and rushed at him with order and discipline. At the critical moment, like an iron tree blossoming, two white coats who had been keeping to the background suddenly stood up and reached out with their gloved hands, saying, "He's a newcomer."

Su Qing hadn't expected this bunch to step in on his behalf. Holding up the ladle, he stared blankly, thinking, How come it's like an online game here? There's special treatment for newcomers?

Then he heard a white coat say, "His period of usefulness is longer than yours. He's more valuable than you are."

Su Qing: "..."

The Type 4 angry birds paid no attention. Grim-faced and screaming, they were about to defy their superiors and execute the white coats as well. The one holding the pole jabbed a white coat with it, irritably saying, "Get..."

Su Qing guessed he was going to say "get out," but when he had said only one word, the man turned ashen-faced and bent over, convulsing. Su Qing carefully stepped aside. He saw a white coat holding a tiny instrument to the pole. Based on his understanding, Su Qing thought it was a small taser.

The man who had been electrocuted gripped the conducting pole irresistibly, frothing at the mouth while performing an unconventional form of pole dance.

The white coat looked at him coldly and thought that he had had about enough, then pressed on the "taser" and watched the man fall exhausted to the ground. With one hand in his coat pocket, looking rather monstrous, he asked, "Would anyone else like to try?"

Their anger receding, the remaining two Type 4 birds who could still walk upright exchanged a look and obediently "did the heroic thing." They picked up their two paralyzed companions and withdrew.

An electric bell rang in the main hall. Su Qing stared. He found the main hall's door opening and a team of uniformed people coming in to methodically clean the hall.

Su Qing stood in the middle of this team of uniformed people. Someone pulled the metal ladle out of his hand, but none of them paid attention to him or even gave him a look, as though he were only a statue. They also didn't talk amongst themselves at all, quickly and efficiently performing the tasks at hand, like a group of robots.

Su Qing saw that the collars of their uniforms were embroidered with the word "Utopia" in an unobtrusive location.

Just then, someone next to him quietly said, "This means that mealtime is over."

Su Qing turned and saw that the old man who had just been pressed into the corner and beaten had come over to him at some point. At a close look, he found that this old man was actually tall and broad-shouldered, only somewhat skinny. The old man's face was injured. He smiled at him and extended a hand. "Cheng Weizhi. Thank you for that just now."

No one had ever tried to shake hands with Su Qing so solemnly. He stared, considering how much force it would be appropriate to use so as not to seem rude while uneasily shaking hands. "Just doing what I ought to do... My name is Su Qing."

He had just spoken when a sharp whistle sounded. The group in "Utopia" uniforms had completed their work and dispersed. The guards with the guns heard the whistle and immediately switched modes from "at ease" to "at attention," changed formation, and stood in two lines.

Cheng Weizhi gave him a gentle push and whispered, "They want us to leave the main hall and go back to our rooms. If you don't mind that I'm an old codger, you can stay with me."

Su Qing was all at sea. He didn't understand anything. The guy who had just been providing commentary for him had turned his attention to fainting and hadn't said anything clearly, so he readily went with Cheng Weizhi.

His mind was full of questions. For example, what did "absorbing emotions" mean? Could such insubstantial things really be used as an energy source? How were types of so-called blue seals and grey seals distinguished? Could grey seals also absorb emotions? Then why couldn't grey seals leap onto roofs and vault over walls like blue seals?

Also...what was Utopia? Who had done all of this?

Cheng Weizhi walked ahead. His back was a little humped, but whether speaking or acting, there was a scholarly moderation about everything he did. Once over his scare, he actually appeared somewhat elegant, an intellectual from head to toe.

Su Qing couldn't help asking, "Er...Uncle Cheng, what even is this place?"

Cheng Weizhi brought Su Qing to a room. He put his hand on the doorknob, paused, and said, "I've been here over two months. Based on my observations, apart from the 'blue seals' and 'grey seals,' all the personnel have a 'Utopia' symbol, either obvious or concealed. I have no way to determine whether this is the name of an organization or a research project."

Su Qing followed Cheng Weizhi inside. The furnishings inside were simple but not crude. Nothing that should have been there was missing. In one room, there were three single beds. Cheng Weizhi opened a closet and with great effort pulled out a set of bedding. "Nights get a little cold here. I'll give you an extra quilt."

Su Qing suddenly seemed to see one winter, while he was attending university, how Su Chengde had had his driver take him to the school without saying a word in advance. He had come on purpose to bring him a quilt and personally put it on his bed, even muttering, "I've felt that it's been a little cold lately, and the heating in your school isn't any good, so I brought you another quilt. Don't keep using that electric mattress pad, it's not safe, and it's uncomfortable..." His heart ached, and he hurried over to take the bedding, clumsily making his own bed.

Cheng Weizhi was elderly and had gone through that irritating incident just now. He sat on his bed a little breathlessly and gave a bitter laugh. "Everything I know, I heard from the researchers. Sometimes when they talk they don't take particular care to avoid us..."

Su Qing stared, hearing the unspoken implication in these words.

Cheng Weizhi continued, "Grey seals are like a consumable good. I've kept track, and up to this point, there hasn't been a single grey seal with more than three 'uses.' Without a conversion system, absorbing energy three times is fatal to the 'energy crystal.'"

Su Qing, not understanding, quickly asked: "What crystal?"

Cheng Weizhi slowly stood up and poured himself a cup of warm water, then took a box of cookies from a cupboard. He beckoned mildly to Su Qing. "Here, young fellow, I snuck this out of the main hall another time. I saw you didn't eat anything just now. You must be hungry."

Su Qing clutched his hair and went over to sit. Cheng Weizhi drank some water and began to carefully narrate the cause and effect of this terrifying grey house.