Chapter 409 349: Should I Address You as Nuwa No. 17, or Z?

"Oh, really? But isn't today your day off...?" Ning Linglong wrinkled her nose, looking pitiful. "And here we were... so looking forward to it... All right! I'm just kidding."

Ning Linglong stuck out her tongue. She saw Chu Bamboo react just as she'd expected—first with guilt, then with surprise at her change in attitude. A hint of smugness crept into her voice. "Serves you right for always teasing me... Look who's getting teased now! I wouldn't dream of bothering you when you're working. We can hang out whenever we have time... Hmph!"

Ning Linglong planted a kiss on Chu Bamboo's cheek and turned around. "Captain... I'll just keep working today, then! The leave I had approved... just move it to whenever Ah Zhu gets a day off!"

"...All right, all right, fine!" Li Kang rolled his eyes. "Do whatever you want... And another thing, you're on the clock now! Hmph, for public displays of affection during work hours... I'm fining you one Big Qian Coin!"

"??? Why don't you just go rob someone?"

"This is faster than robbing!" Li Kang said casually.

Ning Linglong gritted her teeth. "You old crook, you've gone too far!"

Li Kang paid her no mind, walking over to one of the machines and casually saying, "One order of egg fried rice."

The next instant, ethereal light began to coalesce.

Just like it was being 3D-printed—

A bowl of fragrant egg fried rice, looking as if it had just been stir-fried in a wok, slowly materialized. It formed under the gaze of Chu Bamboo, who, while appearing normal on the surface, watched with an expression so calm it bordered on indifference.

Li Kang casually took the bowl, had a couple of bites, and a satisfied expression spread across his face. "Awesome, as always! God Z... thanks."

'The way he'd said "God Z" was so crisp and clear. Was he pronouncing it in Chinese... or was that the English letter?'

'But... that was definitely not a name from the Dream Language!'

The room seemed to fall silent for a moment.

As Chu Bamboo watched with an intrigued expression, a calm voice finally sounded. "Command received. No thanks necessary."

Guan Fei, Ning Linglong, and Wall Announcements followed suit, walking up one by one to get the breakfast they wanted.

Their breakfast choices were all over the map—from xiaolongbao and crab roe noodles to a simple pork floss bun. The method of creation was the same for all of them: printed out of thin air.

"Ah Zhu, are you going to eat?" Ning Linglong asked, turning to Chu Bamboo.

"You guys go ahead. I'll get something for myself." Chu Bamboo lazily lay back down on the bed. He suddenly thought of something. "By the way... what are you all busy with today?"

"Patrol duty... what else?" Guan Fei scratched his head. "There's basically nothing to do... emmm."

Guan Fei glanced at Chu Bamboo again. After a moment's thought, he looked around at his teammates and said considerately, "Let's give Ah Zhu some private space. I think the workload might be getting to him... he seems a little down."

"That's what I'm talking about... the people in the Lower City District..." Guan Fei grew visibly angry at the topic. "I know I shouldn't be the one to say it, since I'm from there, but there are just too many troublemakers! It makes the Union's job impossible... Ah Zhu, you can't be Mr. Nice Guy all the time like you used to be! It's time to... bring some new energy to the masses."

"How did you put it again...? Oh, right. 'The lights might be out, but the baton in my hand is still fully charged...'"

"Shut your mouth!" Li Kang snapped, his face dark. 'Are those words an Official should be saying? What would people think if that got out! What an absolute idiot...'

"Calm down," Chu Bamboo interjected.

"...Fine! Since you're asking," Li Kang said, pausing. He glanced at Chu Bamboo, considered for a moment, then nodded. But he still shot a vicious glare at Guan Fei as he turned and walked out. "Guan Fei, for your regular training today, add an extra twenty percent intensity."

"...Have mercy!" Guan Fei raised his hands with a wry smile.

"If something's on your mind, you can talk to us, you know!" Ning Linglong gave Chu Bamboo a worried look. For some reason, she felt that he was a little different today...

Her lips parted as if to say something, but in the end, Ning Linglong kept quiet and followed the group out.

Chu Bamboo watched calmly as they all departed, leaving him alone once more in the metal base.

He glanced around at the precision instruments still humming with activity... then, his gaze fell upon the machine that had printed the egg fried rice and all the other meals out of thin air.

"Well, well..." Chu Bamboo laughed, but there was no joy in his smile. "Truly... unexpected, yet perfectly logical."

The moment he'd touched Ning Linglong's shoulder, Chu Bamboo had used his Power of Replication. And what he found was, to his surprise... or rather, as he had expected—

Nothing!

He hadn't sensed any Divine Techniques to replicate.

Of course, Ning Linglong was no mere mortal. Chu Bamboo could sense that her physical strength was far greater than that of an ordinary person.

'So... is the Ning Linglong of this timeline actually a Body Cultivator?'

Wrong, wrong, wrong!

'Body Cultivators suffer from corruption!'

If Chu Bamboo remembered correctly, the topic of discussion when he first met Li Kang and the others was... how corruption manifested in men as warped musculature, and in women as pale skin and a loss of weight.

But Ning Linglong's weight was perfectly normal! 'Wait, but... she was actually wearing makeup this time!'

'As a Cultivator... she had never worn makeup in the past. And her natural face was even more stunning than her face with makeup today!'

Not to mention, Chu Bamboo thought, considering their physiques—Li Kang, Guan Fei, even Wall Announcements... none of them showed the slightest sign of corruption.

This could only mean... none of them were on the path of a Body Cultivator!

As for their superhuman physical strength...

Chu Bamboo rose slowly. He surveyed his surroundings, walked over to the food synthesizer, and patted it gently. Speaking in standard Mandarin, he had it print a cup of sweet iced tea. He took it in his hand and took a small sip. 'Mmm... a taste that transcends time! It's exactly the same.'

The corner of his mouth curved into a slight smile as he spoke in an enigmatic tone, "So, should I call you Nuwa No. 17, or should I call you—"

"'God Z'?"

The silence was so profound it felt like an illusion.

No... it wasn't an illusion.

Chu Bamboo calmly scanned the room. He saw that the humming machinery had all fallen silent.

In that instant, an almost oppressive atmosphere filled the entire metal base.

Finally, a familiar voice spoke... and in that female voice, one could faintly hear a hint of fear.

"...Father!"