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

After spending a week in the space city, Stephen Chow sat on a small stool, fanning himself with a palm leaf fan, and nodded with satisfaction at the bustling scene in front of him.

"Line up! Don't push! Sir in front, please take your research life-saving supplement. Remember to throw the paper cup in the recycling bin after you finish eating. Protecting the environment starts with aerospace workers!"

The queue in front of the beverage truck stretched for over a hundred meters.

The authorities even recruited volunteers to maintain order.

With deft, nimble hands, cups of chilled ice cream appeared out of thin air.

On the other side, the laboratory building.

Polaris was surrounded by a group of seven or eight white-haired experts.

"Look at the internal stress distribution of this titanium alloy nozzle. Could it be further optimized?"

"Master, this is the structural diagram of our newly designed fuel pump. Would you mind taking a look?"

Polaris still maintained her aloof and arrogant demeanor, but the defensiveness and hostility in her eyes had long since disappeared.

He patiently helped the experts adjust the metal parts.

After confirming that both of them were in good condition, Stephen Chow decided to go back.

He strolled over to the laboratory building: "Ahem... Comrades, visiting hours are over for today. Our Comrade Xiao Luo is going home."

"It's only four in the afternoon! Let Lorna, the expert, guide us for another half hour! Just half an hour!"

"No, no, it's not advisable to continue working while sick."

After saying that, Stephen Chow pulled Polaris out of the group of old men and walked towards the soft-serve ice cream amidst their disappointed gazes.

"Xiao Luo, I'm going back to the capital. Do your best here, and there are a few things you must remember."

Polaris glanced at him sideways: "What did you say?"

"Capitalist exploitation is blatant robbery. We talk about dedication here, but we can't just work without eating. You're a proper expert now."

"If anyone dares to make you work overtime without pay, or makes empty promises without providing overtime compensation, you should twist their people... and their equipment into a pretzel!"

Polaris chuckled, her smile carrying a rare tenderness and ease.

"What if I break it and they ask me to pay for it?"

She raised an eyebrow, her tone teasing.

"What are you afraid of? If anything happens, just report Director Wang's name and say it was Director Wang who ordered it!"

Polaris's smile faded, and he nodded seriously: "Okay, when you get back, please give my regards to Anton and Jiliu."

Don't worry.

Just then, the sound of footsteps approached.

Amy, who had finally managed to take a break, ran over carrying a large paper cup.

"Stephen! This is for you!" The soft-serve ice cream ran up to him, smiling sweetly.

The ice cream in the cup was carefully shaped into a blooming sunflower, exuding the fresh scent of vanilla and mint.

"Wow, I didn't expect there to be a surprise before I left!"

"Oh? Are you leaving?" Her voice was filled with deep reluctance.

Stephen Chow took the ice cream and reached out to ruffle her hair: "Don't cry, it's not like we're parting ways forever."

"This will be your new workplace from now on. Look, everyone likes you."

"If anyone dares to bully you in the future, let your Polaris help you get revenge."

After chatting with the two for a while and finishing his ice cream, Stephen Chow said goodbye to them.

By taking a ride on an internal transport plane within the space city, I managed to save on travel expenses and returned to Beijing smoothly.

After a winding journey back to Bureau 749, I saw Jiliu Jie sitting in a chair looking at a dictionary as soon as I entered the lobby.

He changed into a dark blue special operations firefighter uniform.

To be fair...

This uniform is well-made and made of crisp fabric.

But it looked awkward on someone in the rapids.

Exile, hunger, and fear left Jiliu emaciated.

The uniform on him looked like a large sack hanging over a bamboo pole.

Stephen Chow came to his side and shook his head with a tsk tsk: "Your uniform looks like the worst buyer's show ever."

"Come on, let me take you to your new workplace! Eat plenty of food when you get there!"

Two and a half hours later.

The compound of a special operations fire and rescue brigade in Beijing.

As soon as he entered the gate, the deafening slogans surprised Jiliu greatly.

Dozens of shirtless firefighters are training in the 100-meter obstacle course and hook ladder under the scorching sun.

A cheerful Stephen Chow walked into the captain's office with a torrent of water.

A dark-skinned man sat behind the desk.

Captain Zhang is in his fifties, with a buzz cut and an extremely robust build.

His thick forearms and pectoral muscles made his clothes bulge out.

At this moment, Captain Zhang was having a real headache holding that transfer order.

"High-risk weather intervention and special smoke extraction team... deputy captain? Are you kidding me?"

Stephen Chow remained calm and smiled as he stepped forward, pulling a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and handing it to him.

"Team Leader Zhang, don't get excited! This is a specially approved technical talent from above. As the saying goes, you can't judge a book by its cover..."

"Stop spouting nonsense!"

Captain Zhang didn't take the cigarette and stood up with a dark face.

"Forget about overseas or domestic! We're the real frontline fighting force here! We have to rush forward on the fire, carrying hoses and dozens of kilograms of equipment, climbing high-rise buildings to rescue people!"

Captain Zhang walked up to the rapids and unceremoniously reached out and patted the rapids' shoulder.

"Look at him!"

"Looks like you've got some strength, huh? When you turn on the high-pressure water gun, the backlash could send him flying all the way up to the third floor!"

"What's going on? Is Bureau 749 treating this place like a welfare home? Are they putting all sorts of outsiders with connections here? The fire scene is a place where you risk your life; people could really die!"

Jiliu couldn't understand the Chinese mixed with dialect, but he could keenly sense the other party's disdain and skepticism.

He clenched his fist slightly, but forcibly held back the thought of his younger brother.

"Captain Zhang, Captain Zhang, calm down."

Stephen Chow took out a tissue and wiped the saliva off his face.

"Modern firefighting emphasizes scientific rescue and inter-agency cooperation! We can't just rely on brute force."

He patted Jiliu's chest and assured him, "He's a bit skinny, but he's capable! And he's not just there to carry water hoses, he's someone with special abilities!"

"Special abilities?"

Captain Zhang pointed to the fire truck on the playground.

"I've only ever heard of exhaust fans and ventilation ducts! I don't care what kind of special abilities they have; here, if you don't meet the physical requirements, you're a bastard!"

"I absolutely cannot let this kind of person die needlessly in the fire, nor can I let him drag my soldiers down!"

"My dear Captain Zhang! You've fallen into the trap of relying on past experience, haven't you?" Zhou Xingxing had a "you can't talk about ice with a summer insect" expression on his face.

"Those exhaust fans are such a hassle! Our Comrade Jiliu is a zero-emission, self-propelled, humanoid special forces smoke extraction specialist!"

"Stop spouting nonsense!"

"I'm putting this out there! Unless he can prove he's better than my soldiers, I won't accept this transfer order! I'll just go to the commander's office and complain about him!"

Stephen Chow's eyes lit up; that was exactly what he was waiting for.

"You said it yourself! Practice is the sole criterion for testing truth, so how about we make a bet?"

Captain Zhang squinted: "What kind of bet?"

"It's simple! Find a training building, set it on fire, and create some thick smoke. Let's see if your exhaust fans can draw it out faster, or if our master of special abilities can."

"If he loses, I'll take him back immediately and won't cause you any trouble. How about it?"