NOVEL NEXT Chapter 124: Otto: If Only
As everyone knows, cold showers and hot showers take different amounts of time. Plus, Shu wasn't the type to linger in the water anyway. Just a few minutes later, Shu was changed into a bathrobe and stepping out of the bathhouse.
He was still carrying his dirty clothes, planning to find a basin and give them a quick scrub.
As for whether the clothes would dry before Fu Hua and the others returned… Crap! How did he forget about that?!
Shu frowned at the clothes in his hands, realizing the problem.
He should have grabbed an extra set of clothes from outside before climbing the wall. This was the city center, after all. There were tons of clothing stores he didn't recognize, but they all looked super high-end.
He could have used this chance to ditch his tattered clothes.
"Oh well, it's mostly just surface dust. A quick wash and they should dry overnight," Shu sighed. It was one thing when he was dirty all over, but now that he was clean, putting on dirty clothes again…
Shu just couldn't bring himself to do it.
Just then, Shu heard a door open. He looked up and saw little Sushang walking out of the room from before, carrying a large tray in both hands.
The tray looked way too big for Sushang's small frame, but you could tell she had solid fundamentals. Her steps were steady and balanced.
"Huh? You're done already?" Seeing Shu with wet hair and changed clothes, Sushang looked surprised.
"Yeah, all done." Shu nodded, raising an eyebrow at the two servings of food on the tray Sushang was carrying. "Don't tell me… is one of those for me?"
"Hmph, just this one meal, and that's it! No more!" Sushang huffed, turning her head away. She placed the tray on a nearby table, grabbed her smaller portion, and started digging in with her spoon.
Shu was indeed starving after a whole day of missed meals. He put down his clothes and sat down at the table. "Thanks, I appreciate it. If you ever need anything, I got your back!"
Sushang rolled her eyes, muttering to herself.
You? Watch my back? Wait till Shifu gets back, she'll beat you so bad you won't know your own name! More like I'll be watching your back!
But… now that he'd showered, he looked completely different from before… Not as handsome as that golden-haired Rakshasa next to Shifu, but surprisingly… pleasing to the eye…
Sushang couldn't help but steal a few more glances.
Shu also couldn't help but glance back.
Sushang's cheeks puffed out as she looked at people, like a little hamster.
Their eyes met for a moment, then they quickly looked away.
Time to eat, time to eat. One was worried about her dwindling food supply, the other was just desperately hungry.
Kiana ate two meals of mine! I'm writing that down in my mental ledger. I'm too embarrassed to ask her to pay me back directly, but I can totally get Sushang to eat up Kiana's stash!
Kiana definitely hoards snacks!
They ate in silence. After finishing, Shu helped Sushang clear the dishes.
As Sushang turned to leave, Shu couldn't resist asking, "About Fu… your Shifu, did she say when she'd be back?"
Sushang paused, her steps faltering slightly, but without turning around, she replied, "She… should be back tomorrow, probably."
With that, Sushang walked off on her own.
Tomorrow, huh? That was good. If he wrung his clothes out really well, they should be dry by then.
No need to worry about Kiana either. The place where they fought the Honkai beast this morning was a two-hour walk away.
Even if they drove back to that shelter, their arrival time should be around the same time he shook off the Honkai Emperor.
Kiana and the others should still be at that shelter. With Mei and Bronya there, they wouldn't be dumb enough to travel at night, right?
Shu thought for a moment and shook his head.
Definitely not. Yun Feng was so cautious. He agreed to move them, but traveling at night would be a deal-breaker for someone that careful.
They might even end up transporting people in batches, one carload at a time.
Shu found a basin, filled it with water from the bathhouse, and began the familiar routine of handwashing clothes.
Good thing his laundry skills from his student days hadn't gotten rusty…
His hands moved in a repetitive, mechanical motion, but his mind kept racing. He finally had a quiet moment to think things through.
Were there any other people in the city center besides Yun Feng's shelter? Shu had asked Yun Feng this question last night.
Yun Feng told him that the survivors there were people he'd gathered over half a month, painstakingly searching across the city center. Shanghai City had a population of nearly ten million, with over a million in the city center alone, and he'd only managed to gather that tiny group.
Less than one in ten thousand. A chilling statistic, but one that made the hearts of those who heard it as cold as the numbers themselves.
Shu didn't know the exact mortality rate of a normal Honkai outbreak, but you could get a glimpse of it from the game story and manga.
If you really compared them, maybe that one-in-ten-thousand survival rate was actually on the high side.
After all, treating Honkai disease required antibodies extracted from a thousand corpses, didn't it?
It seemed that once these people were brought back to the train, he'd have to discuss researching Honkai energy with Otto.
Even without a foundation, Shu believed that Otto, if he started from scratch right now, would eventually be able to extract Honkai energy antibodies. It shouldn't be a problem.
As for where to get the equipment…
As long as he told Otto that his power was that he could achieve anything as long as he was trusted and treated with kindness, wouldn't that be enough to make Otto worship him? Hehehehehehe…
What? You won't acknowledge me as your boss?
Then no equipment for you!
Wait… it seemed like Otto didn't really have a strong reason to do research, huh… Kallen and Kiana were on the same level of power. Researching how to fight better was one thing, but researching how to not be infected by Honkai energy…
That probably wasn't something those two needed to worry about.
Damn it, his entrepreneurial ambitions were cut short halfway!
Shu's frustrated laundry scrubbing became a little more forceful.
What could he do to make Otto work for him? That was a question worth pondering.
While it was true that Otto would gladly agree if Shu proposed research, that golden-haired fox would definitely seize the opportunity to ruthlessly exploit him, like wanting to dissect him for research…
Wouldn't that be Shu suggesting his own path to the operating table? He was okay with the operating table, but definitely not by tripping himself up like this.
How about turning the tables? He could propose an experiment on his own abilities and have Otto be his research assistant. Wouldn't that put him in charge, at least in name?
That was Shu's last shred of dignity!
"Hehehe…" Shu chuckled softly, imagining himself calling out, "Otto, my boy!"
Otto: If only.