The Wealthy

Tu Ran: "..." But you tried to kill me afterwards.

Given the many surveillance cameras here, Tu Ran didn't say the second half of that sentence out loud.

But her gaze was so direct and obvious that she was sure Xie Xu could read it—after all, the man was like a worm in her belly, able to guess whatever she was thinking.

Sure enough, Xie Xu's eyes drifted elsewhere.

Tu Ran got up from the floor and packed up her gear.

"Then I'll trouble Researcher Xie to pick up the tab."

Back in the nutrient pod at the Medical Department, if he hadn't shown up in time, she really would have died.

And back then, she hadn't been wearing any clothes, and he'd thrown her a blanket.

It counted as a life-saving favor, one way or another.

She'd just take it as a free meal and see what ulterior motive this guy had.

Tu Ran had lost track of time during training; before she knew it, she'd practiced all afternoon.

Now it was just about the time the administrative clerks in the Administrative Building got off work.

Taking the elevator down, Tu Ran followed Xie Xu and went to the underground parking lot on B3 for the first time.

The entire third basement level was packed with cars.

Tu Ran looked around and saw many luxury cars belonging to this world.

While searching for alien creatures in Regaken State, she'd seen some luxury car ads on billboards along the streets, and she remembered those price tags had countless zeros after them.

At the time, she'd been chasing an alien and only had a fleeting glance; she hadn't even had the chance to count the zeros, but they seemed longer than a candied hawthorn stick.

And in this underground parking lot, Tu Ran saw more than a dozen such cars.

Tsk, so there were this many rich people in the administrative center.

Xie Xu's car was parked in the middle of that cluster—a steady black one. Tu Ran glanced at the license plate.

Getting into the car, Xie Xu started it and drove toward the exit.

Tu Ran buckled her seatbelt, secretly hoping the car would take off—she'd never ridden in a flying car before.

When she'd traveled on the magnetic levitation railway, she'd seen plenty of cars that could fly.

But clearly, Xie Xu's car couldn't fly. It drove like an ordinary vehicle along the congested road.

Xie Xu parked at the entrance of a restaurant that looked quite elegant.

Tu Ran followed him inside; a robotic waiter greeted them warmly.

Downstairs, a few people sat scattered about.

Xie Xu had reserved a private room on the second floor. The waiter led them straight up, seated them, and handed over the menu.

Xie Xu, ever the gentleman, gave Tu Ran the choice of dishes.

Taking the menu, Tu Ran was surprised to find that all the ingredients used here were naturally grown—not a single one was synthetic.

And the corresponding prices on the back were, of course, outrageously high.

So Xie Xu was rich too.

She should have figured that out earlier—his older brother was a major general, and he himself was a senior member of the Research Institute.

It would be strange if he weren't loaded.

Still, because his usual attire was so plain that there wasn't a hint of wealth about him, she'd subconsciously assumed he was just like her, living on the Federation's monthly salary.

"This one, this one, this one, this one, and this one." Tu Ran unceremoniously ordered five dishes.

The robot looked at Xie Xu. "Does this gentleman want anything else?"

"No," Xie Xu said.

"Very well, please wait a moment." With that, the robot walked downstairs with a natural gait.

Its walking posture was very human-like, and its stability was strong. If it weren't for the Federal Government's ethical considerations that prohibited robots from appearing too close to humans, it could have easily passed as one.