The Great Worm Lich

It was already evening when the ship docked. Zhang Lisheng walked towards the new New York port under the dim sunset and followed the flow of crowds out of the port.

On the way to pick up his car, he came across a young hawker selling hamburgers and hotdogs. Smelling the aroma of the currently grilling sausage, he caressed his hungry stomach and walked to the side of the road. “Hey, buddy! Give me four beef burgers, six hotdogs, and six iced Coke. Takeaway please!”

Seeing a customer appearing, the hawker dressed in a clean apron warmly said, “Sure! four beef burgers, six hot dogs and six iced Coke. That would be 23 dollars please!” Dexterously, he took out the round buns from an oven and cut them open, before adding on a fried beef patty, lettuce, and cheese sauce to make them into hamburgers before wrapping them in papers.

Right at this moment, a guy wearing a black robe while covering his face with cloak suddenly walked up to the hamburger stall and stuffed a piece of flyer into Zhang Lisheng’s hands. “Sir, the end is coming. For God so loved the world!”

Zhang Lisheng looked at the seemingly familiar flyer that had a drawing of Earthlings struggling in the steam in front of the page and a drawing of their believers strolling happily in paradise at the back. He smiled noncommittally but the hawker on the side had already turned cold and said, “Donnie, I don’t care if you wanna go crazy but please don’t disturb my customer!”

“Disturb? No! I’m saving them! Oh, Joseff my good friend! When will you wake up and devote yourself to the embrace of Lord Christ?” the black-robed man replied back with a soft but pretentious voice. “The doomsday is coming and only Lord Christ can fight against the invasion of those foreign world’s people and save the world…”

“Shut up, Donnie! We can only rely on ourselves to fight against the invasion of the foreign world! I’ve already signed up for military service today and I’ll leave at the end of the month. If I’m lucky, I’d be able to become a Steel Warrior on the battlefield next year. At that time, I will kick the ass of those Karlado people and let them know that they should have never come to behave wildly on our Earth!”

“Y-You’ve actually joined the military?” the black-robed man shouted in bafflement, his voice full of emotion.

“Yes! Not only that, the military doctor has checked my physique and after letting me play a few hours of a war game, I was enlisted to become a reserve member of the ‘Steel Warriors’!”

“Sh*t! Y-You even want to become a member of the Transformers?”

“That’s right, Donnie! While you’re disguising yourself as a deity to fool others, I had my feet on the ground and have already chosen another path that can really save the world!” the young hawker said as he put the wrapped burgers, hot dogs and iced Coke in a takeaway bag before handing it to Zhang Lisheng.

“Thank you, keep the change. Take it as a tribute to the future Steel Warrior!” Zhang Lisheng took the paper bag and paid 50 dollars. “I’m very curious. If you don’t mind, can I ask you a question? Could it be that you only have to pass the body check-up and play well in the war game to stand a chance to drive the Steel Warrior? It’s not chosen from pilots instead?”

“Thank you for your generous tip, man. The driving system of the Steel Warrior and the fighter plane are two completely different things. It’s said that the most important thing is the coordination of hands and eyes as well as a strong body physique. As for the specific details about it, well, I don’t really know much about it.”

“Thank you!” After hearing the answer of the reserve soldier who was going to become the fighter that was officially known as the ‘Steel Warrior’ but was more usually called as ‘Transformers’ by the folks, Zhang Lisheng thanked him with a calm expression but a series of turmoiled emotions had already started to boil in his heart.

If an ordinary person could operate the Steel Warrior with just a little training, there was no doubt that he would have to reassess the US’ potential in war.

Chewing the delicious-smelling hamburger in his mouth as if he was chewing wax, the young man pondered on it as he walked into the parking lot and drove back to New York City.

Along the way, he repeatedly wondered whether the US would change its policy on Shrimp B1 Island if the Steel Warrior appeared in large quantities. However, no matter how he pondered over it, he still did not have any clue at all.

When he was finally near his house, Zhang Lisheng shook his head and no longer pondered over it. He slowed down his footsteps and stood on the lawn in front of the door. Feeling the rare breeze coming from the early summer, he leaned against the street lamp and took out his phone to dial Tina’s phone number. Immediately, he heard the girl’s anxious voice resonating from the other side. “Lisheng, I finally received your call! Where have you been? I’ve called you more than ten times in total today and yesterday night but none of the calls went through at all!”

“When such a situation happens, of course I’d be on Shrimp B1 Island! I suddenly had some inspiration yesterday morning so I rushed to the lab on the island to do a few experiments. I only returned to New York by getting on the last civil ferry tonight.”

“Really? You were on the foreign world’s island for the past thirty over hours?” the girl’s voice became gentle as she asked again.

“Really! Not only that, the results of the experiment will certainly shock the world if they are announced!” Zhang Lisheng said with a half-truth.

“Oh, baby! Congratulations then!” Tina no longer asked anything else. “I have bad news to tell you! The date of my Consumer Psychology test has been fixed and it’s on the afternoon the day after tomorrow. I can’t accompany you to Senator Houg’s estate banquet anymore.”

“Is that so? The reason I called you is also to confirm this. It’s alright then! If you’re not free, it’d be the same as well if I go alone.”

“Usually, this kind of reciprocal banquet would have a dance party in the evening to further socialize,” the girl replied with experience. “It’d be more appropriate if you bring a female partner with you. I know that if I didn’t show up before the departure, somebody would definitely offer herself to help so I’ve already asked Trish to become your female companion.”

“Trish as my female companion?” Zhang Lisheng was stunned. “Is that okay?”

“Of course! It’s much more reliable than you hiring a female partner to attend a dance party last time! She has broken up with Dukley and has become single again. She’s unattached and she’s a devout Catholic. She would never fall in love with your ‘heresy’ no matter how much she admires you and makes me the miserable heroine, who has been betrayed by her best friend and her boyfriend, of a soap opera. So everything is just alright!” Tina joked as she listed a lot of reasons.

“As you wish then. I’ll go to the Shrimp B1 Island after Senator Houg’s banquet and this time, it may take two to three months before I return…”

“It’s alright, baby! Right now, going to Shrimp B1 Island is just as convenient as an outing. I’ll go find you during the summer vacation!” Without waiting for her boyfriend to finish his sentence, Tina had already cut him off. “You promised me, remember? You said that you’ll open the eyes of the three of us!”

“Okay! Of course I’ll do it since I’ve already promised you!” Zhang Lisheng became silent for a moment before answering with helplessness. “But, there are some taboos that you three must follow… Ah, forget it, we can always talk about it when we see each other…”

“Lisheng, is that you?” Suddenly, a cry from a distance interrupted the young man.

When Zhang Lisheng turned his head, he saw his mother carrying two bags of garbage walking towards him. He removed the phone away and waved his hand. “It’s my mom.”

When Lili saw that it was indeed his son who was outside the door, she threw the garbage into the trash can in front of the door according to the rubbish classification and asked with delight, “When did you come back, baby? Why are you hiding outside to talk on the phone?”

“I’ve just come back a few minutes ago. The air outside is good so I’m merely having a casual talk with Tina.” Zhang Lisheng smiled and placed the phone back onto his ear again. “Tina, I’ll hang up first if there’s nothing, alright?”

“D-Don’t do that, baby! Don’t interrupt the sweet whisperings between you and your girlfriend because of my appearance!” Lili hurriedly stopped her son and exclaimed. “Send my regards to Miss Tina. I’ll enter the house right now to make dinner for you. It’ll take at least 30 minutes to be done so you guys take your time.”

Then, she walked back to the house in light footsteps.

“I heard Auntie Lili. She asked you to send her regards to me and even hopes that we can talk for 30 minutes more. What an understanding and good mother!”

“But I think that you should study already. Isn’t there another day before your test?”

“Oh, Lord! Thank you for reminding me about this ‘bad luck’! See you then, baby!”

“See you, Tina!” Zhang Lisheng hung up and walked into the house.

The ceiling light on the living room had already been switched on and when Lili, who was getting busy in the open kitchen, saw her son coming into the door, she smiled and said, “Didn’t I tell you to talk longer to your girlfriend? You two are having a long-distance relationship and you need to communicate more to maintain a good relationship.”

“Don’t worry, mom! Our relationship is already good enough!” Seeing that there seemed to be only her mom and him alone in the entire house, Zhang Lisheng asked, “Where is Uncle Lavin, Michelle, Gill, and Harry?”

“Sullo is working overtime. There’s a big case today. Recently, due to the war declaration with the Karlado people, the public order of New York City has become a lot worse now. Those two little mischievous guys have gone out with Michelle to send their classmates who joined the army. Time flies so fast! In just a blink of an eye, they’re almost 18 years old already!” Lili sighed with emotion.

“Then, it means that only the two of us will be eating dinner tonight,” Zhang Lisheng began to help his mom. “Mom, speaking about the US’ war declaration on the Karlado people, I have a suggestion. What do you think about me building a fully equipped bunker for you? Your life will not change a bit but it’s just that you’ll get less chance to enjoy the sun.”

“Oh, baby! You’re so considerate! If we encounter a missile attack, it’s indeed much safer to live in a bunker than live in this old house that is almost twenty years old already!” Lili was stunned for a moment before saying in realization. “But how should I go to work? Of course, you can buy a war chariot to drive me to work but how about when I’m working? Don’t tell me that you want to move the entire Lowbige Junior High underground?”

“Okay, just forget what I said, mom!” When Zhang Lisheng heard his mom’s words, he sighed and spread out his hand helplessly as he replied. At this time, the phone in his pocket suddenly rang.

Taking out his phone, he saw that it was an unfamiliar number. A faint premonition was formed in his heart. Clenching his teeth, he picked up the call and right away, he heard a familiar voice saying, “Good evening, sir! I’m Harry Ned from Manston Book Press. Do you need the Encyclopedia of Living Things? We can deliver it right away…”

Halfway throughout the call, the call suddenly became dead, as though it was suddenly cut off. Zhang Lisheng contemplated for a moment and his eyes lit up as he told his mother, “Mom, I have something urgent to attend to outside and I’ll be back in 20 minutes at most!”

Before Lili could even reply, he had already rushed out of the house.