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

In the end, the meal didn't happen.

Despite having no appetite, Comrade Ling Lingqi still kept his promise.

Two packets of deep-fried, golden-yellow silkworm pupae from Northeast China, and one packet of bright red, spicy grasshoppers.

"Here you are, a high-protein supplement specially supplied by China."

"These are high-quality items that can only be obtained through internal channels. Silkworm pupae are rich in unsaturated fatty acids and high-quality protein, while grasshoppers contain abundant chitin and trace elements."

"Its nutritional value is three levels higher than those wild insects you find in American garbage cans."

The toad-man took the bag and smelled it.

It tastes amazing!

He tore open the bag of silkworm pupae, and with a flick of his tongue, three or four golden pupae disappeared into his mouth.

A crisp "crack" sound.

"tasty!"

He shouted in his still-not-quite-standard Chinese, "It tastes a hundred times better than...a hundred times better than a cockroach!"

Stephen Chow took two steps to the side in disgust: "Can we please not discuss the taste of cockroaches in public? It's an eyesore."

The toad-man didn't hear a thing, and continued to roll the silkworm pupae into his mouth one by one with his tongue.

"Eat slowly! Eat on the way! Eat on the train! Don't eat it all at once!"

......

On the high-speed train.

Mortimer, wearing a mask and a baseball cap, huddled by the window.

He stuffed the snakeskin bag at his feet and held the bag of spicy grasshoppers he hadn't finished eating in his arms.

Stephen Chow sat next to him, scrolling through the task reports on his phone.

"Ah Qi," the toad-man suddenly whispered.

"Um?"

"I... learned a song."

Stephen Chow looked up at him.

Mortimer's vertical pupils held a look of anticipation and excitement, like a primary school student about to perform for his parents.

"Teacher Li taught me," he added.

"Want me to sing it?"

Mortimer cleared his throat.

Then, this rough-skinned, everted-lipped British mutant began to sing softly in a strange, heavily accented but unusually earnest voice:

"Unity is strength!"

"This power is iron! This power is steel!"

They were moved 108,000 li away.

But he pronounced each word with extreme force.

Stephen Chow remained silent for a few seconds.

Then he turned off his phone screen, leaned back in his chair, and closed his eyes.

"Pass. Next time, I'll test you on the second paragraph."

Mortimer grinned widely, revealing a bright smile.

......

From the high-speed rail station, transfer to a bus, then to a van, and finally to a three-wheeled motorcycle.

After turning the last bend, Tiankeng Village came into view.

"Knock knock knock knock!"

"Clang, clang, clang, clang!"

Good heavens, the place was filled with the deafening sound of firecrackers and the resounding beat of drums.

Stephen Chow almost thought he had wandered onto the wrong film set.

At the entrance to the construction site, dozens of workers stood in two neat rows.

Project manager Lao Liu stood at the front, his face flushed, holding a large megaphone in his hand.

A red banner was stretched overhead:

[A warm welcome to Master Mo, one of the top ten model workers, on his triumphant return]

Two strings of firecrackers were hanging next to the banner, popping and exploding loudly.

"Master Mo!" Old Liu shouted through a megaphone, his voice booming, "Welcome home!"

"Old Mo is back!"

"Old Mo! I want to eat fish!"

"Master Mo! I've missed you so much!"

The workers rushed forward.

Old Li squeezed to the front, grabbed Mortimer's hand, and held it tightly.

"Master Mo!" The middle-aged worker, who had once fallen off a cliff and been rescued mid-air by Mortimer, had red eyes: "My wife gave birth to a big, healthy baby boy the day before yesterday! Seven pounds and eight ounces!"

"If you hadn't saved me back then, my son wouldn't even have a father!"

"My wife and I have discussed it, and we've decided to name our child 'Momo'! He'll take your surname!"

Stephen Chow stood on the periphery of the crowd and chuckled.

night.

Construction site canteen.

Master Wang used his best skills.

The table was laden with braised pork, sour fish soup, spicy chicken, and mixed vegetables with houttuynia cordata.

There were also two cases of beer and a bottle of liquor that Lao Liu had treasured in the middle.

The toad-man sat in the very center of the main table.

He had completely mastered using chopsticks, and could pick up meat faster than anyone else at the table.

"Master Mo, one please!"

"Dry!"

Mortimer raised his beer bottle and clinked it with the surrounding workers.

His Chinese is still not fluent enough; he can only utter a few words most of the time.

But the workers didn't care at all, and chatted with him using gestures and guessing.

Stephen Chow sat in the corner, munching on a piece of braised pork, watching all of this.

Old Liu leaned closer, holding his wine glass, and whispered, "Old Mo was gone for ten days to two weeks, and our progress was halved. Now that he's back, we should have a chance by the end of the year!"

"Of course." Stephen Chow wiped his mouth. "Have you paid your social security on time?"

"I've paid! I haven't missed a single day! My housing provident fund is also being deposited!"

What about the high-temperature allowance?

"It's done! Although Guizhou isn't particularly hot, the sun shines directly on the cliff face, so I reported it to the highest standard!"

"Okay." Zhou Xingxing nodded in satisfaction: "If he gets an award for outstanding performance at the end of the year, remember to nominate him for an advanced individual award. Make sure the certificate is printed in color, don't try to fool people with a black and white one."

"rest assured!"

The next morning.

Stephen Chow stood on the cliffside viewing platform in Tiankeng Village, holding a cup of strong tea brewed in a construction site thermos.

Before us lay a dazzling array of karst cliffs.

On a rock face with a vertical drop of more than 300 meters, a winding construction access road is extending into the depths.

The steel bars, anchor bolts, and concrete supports are being installed section by section.

On the steepest section of the cliff at the very front, Mortimer walked as if on flat ground.

The sap secreted from his soles and palms allowed him to cling firmly to the nearly vertical rock face.

"Da da da..."

The sound of jackhammers echoed through the canyon.

After drilling each hole, Mortimer would move sideways like a gecko to the next marked point.

Stephen Chow took out the "Overseas Special Talent Assessment Form" that he always carried with him and turned to Mortimer's page.

The page was already densely covered with various records:

Attendance rate: 100%

Safety incidents: 0

[Chinese Proficiency: Fluent in Daily Communication (Guizhou Dialect Version)]

[Worker relationships: Excellent]

[Special Note: The cafeteria consumes a relatively large amount of silkworm pupae.]

Zhou Xingxing drew a big "Excellent" in the overall evaluation column with satisfaction.

Then he closed the notebook and turned to leave.

Old Liu arranged for a jeep to take Zhou Xingxing to the county town to catch a bus.

Mo Hamaren stood on the edge of the cliff, watching the car grow smaller and smaller.

Then he stuck out his tongue, curled up his helmet, raised it high above his head, and waved it vigorously.

"Thank you, Ah Qi!"

in the car.

Stephen Chow leaned back in the bumpy seat and took out a small notebook from his pocket.

A list of names was displayed above, some of which had been crossed out in red:

~~Toad Man~~ ✓ Tiankeng Village - On Duty

~~Rapid Current~~ ✓ Special Firefighting Team - On Duty

~~Polaris~~ ✓ Space City - On Duty

~~Soft Ice Cream~~ ✓ Aerospace City Logistics - On Duty

~~Anton~~ ✓ Archives Room, Bureau 749 - On Duty

The last name hasn't been crossed out yet.

【Leisurely Girl】—To be determined

Zhou Xingxing stared at the name and tapped the notebook cover with his finger.

"You're the only one left, you blue-skinned drunkard."

He closed his notebook and looked out the car window at the Guizhou mountains rushing past.

"I need to find you a job where you can't drink..."

The jeep disappeared at the end of the winding mountain road.

On the distant cliff face, the sound of pneumatic picks rang out again.