The Great Worm Lich

The wide, idyllic holiday estate was green and forested, the ground was covered with neatly trimmed grass.

Sitting on a chair made of logs while looking out at the beautiful scenery from the wooden house that had three walls of French casement windows, Zhang Lisheng had a bottle of cold beer in his hand in order to live up to the owner’s kindness, and toasted with Houg as he smiled formally. “Houg, if I have such a beautiful manor, the most pleasant life would be for me to hide inside here trimming the lawn and doing my experiments instead of running for a member of the parliament. But, of course, a politician like you, who has a sense of responsibility and a sense of mission to the society, has a different mindset from a ‘scientific geek’ like me. Again, I’d like to congratulate you on your election as the new New York State’s senator. ”

“Thank you. But I’d also like to add on, Lisheng. If I have a gifted business talent and scientific mind like yours, I wouldn’t have gone to run as a senator as well. Frankly, God is too biased towards you, so much that I’m almost jealous!” Houg drank half of the bottle of beer in one mouthful and laughed as he said.

From the display of these two people, they looked like a pair of good friends who had known each other for years. It was impossible to imagine that they had just met in less than twenty minutes.

“Business talent and scientific mind? Oh, I do indeed have some confidence when it comes to these two points.” Hearing Houg’s words, Zhang Lisheng, who felt that he had found the opportunity and felt that it was about the right timing, said in a depressed pretense. “However, right now, my confidence has been destroyed by the ‘Steel Warriors’ that have descended from the sky. These ‘Transformers’ are so powerful that it makes my studies on the foreign world’s monsters on Shrimp B1 Island become meaningless. Since now that we have these steel giants to protect the US, why do we still need the cloned big guys to appear?”

“Oh, buddy? You’re researching on bioweapons? I knew that your research direction will be this kind of ‘extraordinary’ aspect!” Houg thought that the young man in front was merely confiding his innermost feelings and secrets to him to become closer to him. Unknowingly, under his guest’s open display, he, who had drunk ten bottles of cold beer, immediately said, “Don’t worry, those big steel blocks are indeed powerful but the manufacturing cost is extremely expensive. Just the cost of the raw materials alone is more than one billion USD already, which is equal to five large passenger planes. Just continue to clone your foreign world’s big guys, Lisheng. If you succeed, it’d still be of great use.”

“The cost of a ‘Steel Warrior’ is one billion USD?” Zhang Lisheng’s eyes lit up and he put on a doubtful pretense. “How could it be so expensive? I recently heard that thousands of reserve fighters are recruited for the Steel Warriors!”

Houg hesitated for a moment before purposely looking around in secret and lowering his voice to say something meaningful, “You’re right, buddy! But when I attended the ‘State Affairs Council’, I just so happen to have learned a little inside news of the ‘Transformers Plan’. Due to the confidentiality clause, I can only tell you that the ‘Steel Warrior’ is very expensive but in comparison, the benefit payment of the US soldiers is not so unacceptable.”

Zhang Lisheng was stunned, before purposely putting on a shocked expression as he asked, “But can’t the Steel Warriors be controlled in a spherical operation room?”

“Oh Lisheng, have you played a game called ‘Halo’ before?” Houg thought about it for a moment and asked out of the blue.

“No.”

“Try to play this game if you have the chance to. The effect is dazzling and exciting but the only drawback is that the special effects are too beautiful! Don’t play it after eating, or otherwise, you’ll easily throw up. Not only that, I heard that when some of these people who have an abnormal pituitary gland play this game, they may be overstimulated by the dazzling image when their characters die to the point that they’d faint. I really wonder what kind of fatal damage it would have to a healthy person when such an effect is increased to ten times, a hundred times, or even a thousand times!”

“It doesn’t need to be ten times or a hundred times. As long as the image stimuli that can make a person with an abnormal pituitary gland faint is enhanced by five times, it’d already be enough to produce an illusory effect on ordinary people. If it’s enhanced seven to nine times, it’d cause an ordinary person to have sudden palpitations and even death due to the inability of the brain to adapt.” Zhang Lisheng had fully understood the meaning Houg was implying. Unable to suppress the ecstasy in his heart, he said in a relaxed manner.

Upon seeing Zhang Lisheng regarding human life as trifle in such a manner, the new senator of New York State thought that it was because Zhang Lisheng was happy for thinking that his research direction was still valuable. He secretly criticized his coldness but he still put on a polite expression and said, “Oh I see. You’re indeed a genius scientist. You always seem to have the correct answer in your mind…”

“Hey gentlemen, we’re back. What are you two talking about?” At this time, Mrs. Houg, who took Trish to look at the newborn cow, suddenly pushed open the wooden door and interrupted her husband.

“We’re busy talking about some boring game. My dear wife, in this era, video games are the love of all men. I just confirmed this from Lisheng’s mouth again so please don’t say that the games that I play are childish anymore!”

“Houg! I really should show those voters who voted for you what you look like now!” Even though Mrs. Houg would never believe that her husband who had just become the new Senator would actually talk about such a ridiculous topic as a video game with his sponsor who had just become a billionaire during their first private meeting, she still put on a disapproving facade and said, “Alright, all of our guests are almost here now. You should go make your speech already.”

“Alright. What are we waiting for then?” Houg put down the beer bottle in his hand and stood up to look at Zhang Lisheng. “Let’s go, buddy! When my friends heard that the only scientist cum businessman who can compare with Edison in US history will come to this party, many of them are looking forward to it very much.”

“I’m also looking forward to becoming friends with your political friends,” Zhang Lisheng smiled and said without hesitation as he held Trish’s arm and walked out of the wooden house with the owner.

Houg’s manor banquet began at 10 am and lasted for a full fourteen hours before the party finally ended at midnight. Only then that the guests who had fully enjoyed themselves finally got on their cars and left.

Such a socializing was purely a waste of time for Zhang Lisheng. If it was not for the fact that he wanted to expand his influence and get to know more potential politicians, he would not have attended it at all. Fortunately, under his random attempt, he managed to get inside information on the Steel Warrior. For this reason, his feelings that should have been secretly irritated in the first place had also become pleasant from beginning to end.

The sky had become completely dark. The limousine drove on the country road on the outskirts of New York.

It was dark in the backseat of the limousine. Trish leaned against the back of the seat and relaxed her entire body. Blinking her bright eyes, she looked at Zhang Lisheng’s vague outline and remained silent.

Zhang Lisheng, on the other hand, was immersed in his imagination of the future, not taking any initiative to speak as well.

The car continued to drive on. Not long after, it turned towards the highway and soon returned to New York City. When it finally drove to the elite section of the Upper West Side, Zhang Lisheng, who saw the dark grey DuPont Apartment through the window, turned his head and smiled. “Trish, we’ve reached your house. Thank you for your help today.”

“It should be me who should thank you instead. I’ve enjoyed myself today. Thank you for your invitation.” The girl, who drank a whole bottle of red wine at the manor, suddenly did something completely unexpected in a drunk manner. Extending her head, she planted a gentle kiss on the edge of Zhang Lisheng’s lips and pushed the door open by herself. “This is the perfect end. That was done on behalf of Tina. See you, Lisheng!”

Then, she strode into the apartment building.

“What the hell? You can even kiss on behalf of somebody…” Watching the girl’s back that disappeared behind the door, Zhang Lisheng touched his lips and muttered in a dumbstruck manner. Only until the limousine had stopped in front of his house that he finally snapped back to reality.

However, no matter how inconceivable it was, just an unexpected kiss was unable to make the young man confused for a long time. Compared with such a trivially small thing, he had too many ‘big things’ to do.

Three days later, Zhang Lisheng, who had rested at home for three weeks, said goodbye to his mother’s family and returned to Shrimp B1 Island on a civil ferry.

Compared to New York’s weather that had become hot, the temperature on the island was still slightly acceptable. Despite the midday sun, there were still people busy walking back and forth on the streets.

After disembarking from the ferry, Zhang Lisheng placed his hands on his head to shelter himself from the sun as he walked to the cement room with a white bald eagle flag outside that was closest to the port. After going through the facial scan, he returned to the bunker’s laboratory and pulled out two metal boxes filled with the formulated stabilizers from the metal cabinet filled with experimental materials and hastily walked out of the bunker again.

Then, he went to the gathering place’s parking lot and looked at a ragged dirty off-road vehicle before shouting out loud, “Is anyone selling a car? I’m willing to pay a high price!”

Immediately, a sturdy bearded man wearing a sleeveless leather jacket over his dirty shirt with a red skull turban wrapping his head replied loudly, “I have a car, how much can you pay?”

“Let me look at the car first!” Even though the car would be thrown away after being driven out of the wall, Zhang Lisheng still shrugged and asked in accordance with general logic.

“That one!” The bearded guy pointed towards a convertible jeep that was full of bumps and hollows and was covered with a thick layer of dust that looked as though it could barely be started and said, “55 grand, no discounts!”

“If you can start it and drive it to me, I’ll give you 55 grand.”

“Deal! Torres, you son of a bitch! Didn’t you hear what the buyer said? Drive the car here right now!” the bearded guy wiped the sweat from his head and yelled. Then, he looked at Zhang Lisheng again and asked, “Other than the car, do you still need a driver, young man? You look as though your driving skills are not very good.”

Zhang Lisheng was dumbfounded for a moment. Then, he took a careful look at the bearded man before nodding his head slowly. “Well, if you’re willing to be my driver, I can hire you right away.”