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

The days were unusually peaceful.

Director Wang did not rush to assign tasks to the newly arrived "special talents".

With a wave of his hand, he demolished a bungalow with a yard.

Standing in the center of the courtyard, Stephen Chow pointed to the mottled red brick wall and the moss-covered water vat in the corner, and launched into a passionate real estate presentation to the crowd:

"Look at this location! Within the Second Ring Road, in a good school district, near the Royal Garden!"

"In America, you live in sewers and air-raid shelters; here, you live in traditional courtyard houses with a century-old history!"

Lorna glanced at the spiderweb-like power lines overhead and the old, leafless locust tree in the yard, and gave a cold laugh:

"So that's why you want me to get that ten-year-old used washing machine motor running again?"

"What are you talking about! This is to train your micro-management precision!"

To help these foreign employees integrate into grassroots life in China as quickly as possible, Director Wang specially invited a retired teacher to train them in Chinese.

Every morning, the sound of students reading aloud can be heard from the courtyard.

"Safety is paramount, swelling is as high as Mount Tai!"

Jiliu spoke with a broken accent, sounding like he was chanting some kind of dark magic spell.

Amy was taking notes diligently, with a freshly made green tea-flavored ice cream next to her, ready to bribe the old teacher.

As for Edith...

She was hanging on a tree branch, drooling as she slept.

Seeing everyone struggling to adapt to the rhythm of their "new workplace," Stephen Chow decides to do something big.

Let's bring the "veterans" back for a meal.

Guizhou, Tiankeng Village Project Department.

When Stephen Chow appeared with a Hongtashan cigarette in his mouth, Lao Liu had already come up to greet him, rubbing his hands together excitedly.

"Boss! You've finally arrived!"

Zhou Xingxing's heart tightened: "Did Lao Mo get into trouble? Or did he eat so much that he bankrupted your cafeteria?"

"She's incredibly capable!"

Old Liu pointed to the figure leaping and bounding in the distance: "How long has he been here? He's already shortened our construction period by two months!"

Zhou Xingxing looked closely and saw Mortimer wearing a hard hat and a reflective vest. His tongue was curled up, and he was frantically working with a jackhammer.

"Old Mo! Work's stopped! We're on holiday!"

Stephen Chow cupped his hands into a megaphone shape and shouted.

Hearing the sound, the toad-man turned around and saw that his pair of yellow vertical pupils had lit up.

With a push off the rock face, he stood in front of Stephen Chow in a few leaps.

"Ah Qi!"

The toad-man rubbed his hands together and blurted out in broken Mandarin, "Why the hell did you come to see me?"

Stephen Chow was stunned by the accent: "Who taught you Chinese?"

"That's what Lao Li taught me. He said it's called being down-to-earth."

The toad-man chuckled, pulled a certificate from his pocket, and proudly handed it to Zhou Xingxing: "Look! Old Liu gave this to me, one of the top ten model workers! And I even got a thousand yuan as a reward!"

Seeing the unprecedented pride radiating from Mortimer's pockmarked face, Stephen Chow patted him on the shoulder with satisfaction:

"Well done! Come on, let me introduce you to your new colleagues, and we'll grab a nice bite to eat!"

……

Stephen Chow, who came and went in a hurry, pushed open the courtyard gate.

"Comrades, look who I've brought back!"

The toad-man walked in somewhat awkwardly, carrying two bottles of Erguotou (a type of Chinese liquor).

"Mortimer?!"

"Genos?!" The toad-man was also somewhat surprised to see a familiar face.

During those days of being wanted, hunted, and living in constant fear, they shared bread in the basement.

In the memories of the torrent, Mortimer was always that self-conscious, sensitive "toad" who cowered in a corner, afraid to face anyone.

He still looks the same strange way, but the evasiveness in his eyes is gone.

Stephen Chow snatched the Erguotou from the Toad Man: "Come on, sit down and let's talk!"

Soon, the aroma of mutton filled the courtyard.

A hot pot was set up in the courtyard.

"Ah Ji, turn the wind down a bit, the charcoal ash is blowing into the meat!"

Stephen Chow, wearing a floral apron, was stirring something in a pot with an iron spoon.

The torrent, its face contorted with despair, stretched out a single finger to control the wind.

On the other side, Polaris was sitting on a stool.

A whole, frozen, rock-hard leg of lamb was placed in front of her, and the cleaver moved like a blur under her control.

"Swish, swish, swish!"

Thin slices of mutton, as thin as cicada wings, fall onto the plate like snowflakes.

"The precision control is excellent! With this kind of knife skill, you could earn at least eight thousand a month cutting meat at Donglaishun."

Stephen Chow gave a thumbs up.

"If you say another word, I'll shove a kitchen knife into your mouth!"

After several rounds of drinks and five courses of food,

The charcoal hotpot was bubbling and steaming, and after a few drinks, the atmosphere became incredibly lively.

The toad-man, his face flushed from drinking, pulled a small red plastic notebook from his pocket and waved it in front of the rushing water.

"Look! What's this!"

"What is this?"

Polaris looked at the small booklet with the national emblem printed on it with a puzzled expression.

"This is called a social security card! It's commonly known as a social security card!"

The toad-man thumped his chest, making a loud bang: "I'm a full-time employee now! I get a base salary every month, a high-temperature allowance, and a commission for every anchor bolt hole I drill!"

Jiliu was stunned: "Commission? High-temperature allowance?"

"yes!"

The toad-man picked up a piece of mutton with his chopsticks and stuffed it into his mouth, chewing with grease dripping from his mouth: "When I first went there, I thought they would throw stones at me, or just call me a monster..."

At this point, the toad-man's voice choked up.

"A worker named Old Li accidentally fell from a height, and I caught him with my tongue. From that day on, they called me Master Mo!"

The toad-man took a swig of wine and smiled broadly.

"Genos, can you believe it? Old Wang, who serves food at the cafeteria, always gives me two extra spoonfuls of braised pork because he's worried I won't have enough to eat!"

"My coworkers would offer me cigarettes!"

"I was too scared to go to the public bathhouse, but Manager Liu just pulled me in and said, 'We're all men here!'"

"He even scrubbed my back himself! Although he scrubbed so hard that I almost peeled off a layer of skin..."

Soft Ice Cream couldn't understand complicated Chinese, but looking at Mortimer's tearful yet incredibly happy face, she couldn't help but tear up as well.

In the United States, they are mutants, heroes or villains, and also experimental subjects hunted by the military.

But regardless of their identity, they were never treated as normal people.

Here, the mutant monster Toadman is just "Master Mo".

"Listen to Ah Qi, do a good job."

The toad-man patted Jiliu on the shoulder: "Once you get the Advanced Individual award, we brothers will hang our certificates together!"

Jiliu looked at the toad-man, picked up his wine glass, and drank it all in one gulp.

"it is good."

"Bang!"

Stephen Chow slammed his hand on the table, breaking the slightly somber atmosphere, and stood up, holding a large porcelain mug.

"Comrades!" Zhou Xingxing hiccuped, looked around at everyone, and said, "Old Mo's words can be summed up in four words—labor is the most glorious!"

"Isn't this just five words?"

Don't worry about the details!

"Now that I've brought you all back, I have to take good care of you! If the sky falls, Director Wang will hold it up; if Director Wang can't hold it up..."

Stephen Chow pulled out a butcher's knife from his back and slammed it on the table with a "bang": "I'll take the hit!"

Polaris looked at the butcher knife on the table, then at Stephen Chow's slightly flushed face.

She suddenly realized that this man, who talked a lot of nonsense, was more reliable than any superhero she had ever met.

"For the five social insurances and one housing fund." Polaris picked up the beer glass in front of him.

"For the year-end bonus!" Jiliu raised his glass as well.

"For... lots and lots of ice cream!" The soft serve happily raised its hand.

"For braised pork!" the toad-man roared.

"Cheers!"

Four wine glasses and a large porcelain jar clinked together crisply in the night sky.

The night breeze was slightly cool.

In this small courtyard, several monsters who had once been homeless finally found their safe haven.

At the foot of the wall, a sleepy young girl rolled over and mumbled, "I want an extra chicken leg..."