American comic: From Beijing with Love, starting with a mutant.

Where are they?

"He's downstairs, Xiao Zhang is watching him."

Director Wang leaned back in his chair.

"Tell me, who did you manage to bring back?"

Zhou Xingxing opened the file bag and handed over the file.

A passport photo was pasted on an A4 sheet of paper. He had a flat nose, everted lips, and his eyes were wider apart than normal.

"Mortimer Toynbee, codename Toadman."

Born in England, later moved to the United States.

"He was recruited into the Brotherhood by Magneto and worked there for a few years. After the registration bill was passed, the Brotherhood disbanded, and he ended up on the streets."

"And what about your abilities?"

"Tongue."

"...What?"

Director Wang suspects that his hearing is deteriorating.

"His tongue, it can extend about four meters, it's extremely sticky and strong, it can lift an adult up and throw him out."

Silence fell over the office.

"Stephen Chow!"

"arrive!"

"You went to the United States, costing the government 23,700 yuan in travel expenses, hazard allowances are separate..."

"I paid for those three McDonald's meals myself, which cost 23,600 yuan."

"Shut up! If you interrupt me again, I'll snap your neck with a deadly scissor kick!"

Director Wang slammed his fist on the table in anger.

"You spent the country's money, traveled all the way to New York, and brought back a girl with her tongue sticking out?"

Stephen Chow straightened his back.

"Director, you're being unprofessional."

Director Wang lifted his eyelids to look at him.

Having worked in Bureau 749 for over thirty years, how could I be called an amateur by a special agent who used to sell pork?

Hey!

This tastes so fresh!

"Let me explain it to you."

"First of all, the Toad Man's tongue can precisely control direction and force, and it's four meters long. Just think about that."

"When working at heights, if someone on the scaffold passes a wrench or a rivet, and others have to walk over to get it, he can just stand there and stick out his tongue and that's it."

Secondly…

Stephen Chow raised his second finger.

"He also has an exceptionally high jumping ability, with a vertical jump height of at least nine meters."

"Nine meters, Chief! That's the distance of three floors!"

"When he was building, he would run up and down the floors. While others would wait for ages to take the construction elevator, he would just squat down and jump up to get there."

"this one?"

"It's not over yet! His skin can secrete mucus."

"I had Leonardo da Vinci test the adhesion of this adhesive after it dries, and it's stronger than 80% of the construction adhesives on the market."

"Just think, if it could be extracted in large quantities, how much would this patent alone be worth?"

Director Wang picked up his thermos and then put it down again.

"He is also resistant to toxic substances; various chemicals cause him very little harm."

"Chemical plant maintenance, toxic environment operations, and construction in radiation areas—these are jobs where a normal person would need to take a six-month break after working for three months."

"He can work non-stop, saving us the money on protective suits."

As Zhou Xingxing spoke, he took out a cigarette from his pocket, but just as he was about to light it, he saw Director Wang's angry eyes, gave a dry laugh, and put it back.

"Director, the most difficult part of the mountain road under construction in the southwest is the cliff section."

"Workers are suspended in mid-air while installing expansion bolts; they can't get much work done in a day."

"Safety ropes, insurance, and high-altitude allowances add up to nearly two thousand yuan a day for one worker!"

"The toadman can lie flat on the cliff face and stick there steadily. He can use his tongue to hook the electric drill and get the job done. One person is as good as five."

"You brought them back from America just so they could be lying on a cliff edge, tightening bolts?"

"This is called giving full play to strengths and making the best use of everyone's talents."

Stephen Chow looked serious.

"What kind of treatment did he receive in the United States? He was chased and beaten up every day."

Magneto used him as cannon fodder, the X-Men used him as a villain, and the common people used him as a monster.

"I brought him back, gave him six types of insurance and two types of housing fund, provided him with food and lodging, and gave him rice and oil during holidays!"

"Chief, he doesn't even have a bed in America; he sleeps in the sewers!"

Director Wang remained silent for a while.

"How am I supposed to report to the higher-ups that we've brought in a top-tier talent whose special skill is sticking out their tongue?"

"Don't just stare at the tongue!"

Stephen Chow got anxious.

"Look at his overall qualities: jumping ability, climbing ability, mucus secretion, and resistance to toxins."

"Combining these four abilities makes one an all-rounder in the construction industry."

"And he can also fix electrical circuits; he was in charge of the base's power maintenance when he was with the Brotherhood!"

"Can you fix electrical circuits?"

"He has a US electrician's license. I made him take the exam, and it cost me $300 for the registration fee. I also have the receipt attached."

Director Wang flipped through the invoices on the table and, sure enough, found a receipt from the Vocational Skills Examination Center.

"You little rascal, you really are..."

"pragmatic."

Stephen Chow has already found the lyrics for him.

"My greatest strength is my pragmatism. The director asked me to take him to some infrastructure sites in Yunnan and Guizhou to give it a try."

"If it doesn't work, I'll bring him back. At worst, I'll arrange for him to help me watch the pork stall."

"You still have your pork stall?"

"Of course I'll keep it; that's my base."

Director Wang unscrewed the thermos and took a sip of goji berry water.

"There's a road construction project in Tiankeng Village, Guizhou. Three construction teams went in and worked for two and a half years but still couldn't finish it."

"The terrain is too complicated, full of caves and underground rivers. Machinery and equipment cannot be transported in, so we have to rely on manual labor. There was another landslide last month, but fortunately no one was injured."

Stephen Chow's eyes lit up.

"I'd go through fire and water for you, Chief!"

"Don't be too happy yet, I have two conditions."

"Please speak."

"First, his identity cannot be exposed. We'll just say he's a temporary worker recruited from out of town, and that he has a skin disease. Don't laugh, I'm being serious."

"No problem, I'll buy him sun-protective clothing and wrap him up very securely."

"His face doesn't quite fit mainstream aesthetics, but what haven't we rural folks seen? Besides."

Stephen Chow lowered his voice.

"More than his face, what ordinary people care about is whether the road is passable."

"Secondly, if there's an accident, you'll take the blame."

"OK."

Director Wang waved his hand.

"Go and get it done. I'll coordinate the funding with the finance department."

Stephen Chow stood up and gave a proper salute, something he rarely did.

In the first-floor corridor, Xiao Zhang was squatting against the wall, staring at the toad-man.

The angle at which the toad-man's two legs are bent is extremely exaggerated.

"Walk."

Stephen Chow patted the toad-man on the shoulder.

Mortimer Toynbee looked up, his yellow eyes darting around.

His Chinese was halting; he learned it from Stephen Chow on the plane.

During the fourteen-hour flight, I memorized three hundred common words.

"Where...are you going?"

"Guizhou".

Where is Guizhou?

"It's a good place."

Stephen Chow pushed him toward the stairwell.

"The mountains are beautiful, the water is beautiful, and the people are kind; it's just that the roads aren't very good, which is why we need you."

The toad-man didn't quite understand, but he had already gotten used to following this Chinese man.

In New York, someone threw rotten tomatoes at him and told him to go back to hell.

He had been curled up in the sewer for three days and had been starving.

My body was covered in dried scabs of slime, and I thought I would probably die here.

Then the person squatted down and handed him a roujiamo (Chinese hamburger).

He said his name is Stephen Chow, or you can call him Stephen Chow.

During the 14-hour flight, Stephen Chow not only forced him to memorize Chinese words, but also taught him something else.

Follow behind him, in the direction he is looking.

That was the first time someone had spoken to him in a normal tone since Magneto kicked him out of the Brotherhood.

You are not a monster.

Not get lost.

Do you want to find a proper job?

The toad man followed Stephen Chow out of the 749 Bureau building.

A bread truck was parked at the entrance. Stephen Chow opened the car door and glanced back at the Toad Man.

"Get in the car."

"and then?"

"Then you'll be a formally appointed toad."