Little Mushroom

"Mr Hubbard, it's me, Scott Shaw."

As Boss Shaw sent a message to Hubbard, An Zhe was holding a human head and practicing doing eyebrows.

The hot needle pierced a tiny hole in the skin made of silicone rubber and then An Zhe implanted the fibers that simulated human hair. Once the molten silicone rubber cooled again, this hair was firmly rooted inside the doll's skin. Boss Shaw's eyes were spent and it was difficult for him to carry out such high-intensity work. An Zhe guessed that this was one of the reasons why he was so anxious to find an apprentice.

Scott Shaw put down the communicator and took the doll out of the glass window, placing in on a seat in the middle of the room. All the joints of the doll could be easily rotated. He folded the doll's legs, clasped the elbows with the hands and finally twisted the head to make it slightly droop. The light passed through the eyelashes to cast a shadow. The doll was sitting in a commanding and slightly melancholy posture.

An Zhe looked up. The dim light cast a dark shadow on the doll's face and the only subtle difference between silicone rubber and human skin was offset. He was completely like a silent, living human.

There was excessive silence. The surrounding windows and containers filled with things that might be considered obscene in human cognition were also strange in this atmosphere. This strange atmosphere was broken by a push of the door. The white light outside entered, reflecting on half of the doll's body. An Zhe squinted as he looked at the man who appeared at the door.

He was a tall man with half-long curly black hair. His eyes were brown and his features were cold. An Zhe could imagine him walking in the wilderness with a gun. An Zhe waited for him to come in but the man just stood at the door, eyes stopped on the doll in the middle of the room. He stood still for so long that he seemed to have become a doll himself.

It wasn't until Boss Shaw coughed and said, "Come in," that the man seemed to awaken and move. He strode into the room and slowed sharply as he approached the doll. An Zhe watched as he raised a hand to touch the face of the doll. His fingers hung in the air but he didn't lower them. In the quiet room, there was only the man's slightly trembling breathing sound, very light. It was like a butterfly was perched on the doll's eyelashes and he was afraid to disturb it.

Eventually, he took back his right hand and stared at the doll while saying, "Thank you."

"No need for thanks." Boss Shaw came over and watched this person with his blue-grey eyes. "Thank you for giving me enough data."

Hubbard smiled but his eyes were still lowered.

Boss Shaw pointed to the human-sized box next to him. "Shall I place him here?"

"I'll do it myself." He finally put his hand on the doll's shoulder, slowly bent down to pick up the doll and put it in the box.

Boss Shaw stood aside. "I didn't know Captain Hubbard was such an emotional man."

"There are some things I couldn't say." Hubbard half-knelt on the ground, slowly closing the lid. His fingers holding the lid were white and it was a long time before he got up again.

Boss Shaw told him, "The doll needs maintenance every two months. Send him over when it is time. If I develop any new craftsmanship then I'll use it."

Hubbard said, "Scott Shaw never did a loss-making business."

Boss Shaw smiled cheerfully. "Captain Hubbard has a lot of power. It isn't possible for me."

"What do you want?"

"A few days ago, I got a big job. This person's data isn't easy to find so I want to ask you to do it."

Hubbard wondered, "Boss Shaw still has data that he can't obtain?"

Boss Shaw grinned. He raised his arm and made a shooting gesture at Hubbard. Hubbard smiled. He turned and pulled the handle of the box as he walked to the door.

"Please wait a minute," An Zhe suddenly called out.

Hubbard turned back. An Zhe quickly walked to him, unbuttoned his shirt and took out the casing hanging from his neck. He inquired, "Sir, do you know where I can find something like this?"

Hubbard was silent as he reached for the brass-coloured casing. He turned it and looked at it in the light. An Zhe's heart thumped.

"There are no such models at the supply stations and on the black market." A minute later, Hubbard let go and the casing fell back against An Zhe's chest. He turned away, leaving these final words.

"It is a military item."

His back gradually moved away. An Zhe reached for his chest and held the casing, slightly dazed.

In the silent room, Boss Shaw smiled.

"Hubbard said it was from the military so it must definitely be true." He said as he closed the door. "What, did you sleep with someone in the military? Du Sai's business is truly big."

An Zhe slowly shook his head. If it was from the military, what should he do?

"Tsk. Have you lost your soul as well?"

An Zhe replied, "I want to find its owner."

"Why? This man didn't give you money?"

An Zhe felt that Boss Shaw's thinking wasn't right.

He refuted, "No."

"A military item can definitely be recognized by military people. I will teach you a way." Boss Shaw was serious.

"What is the method?"

"You can't go to the main city or the wilderness. Inside the outer city, the city's defense station and the justice court are all military sites. You can go there in the middle of the night and hook up with one of them. The military might be strictly controlled but there are inevitably morally corrupt personnel."

An Zhe, "……"

He thought about it and asked, "Who in the military will go out into the wild?"

Boss Shaw flicked his forehead. "Who do you think drew the map of the wilderness?"

It hurt and An Zhe bit his lip.

"Don't feel wronged." Boss Shaw said. "Even the judges are only at the base for half a year. All members of the military have to go outside."

An Zhe was silent as he bowed his head and continued to work on the eyebrows. He realized that he might have to stay at the base for a long time. By the end of the day, the eyebrows were finished and Boss Shaw was satisfied, letting him off work.

An Zhe wanted to drink potato soup on the first floor of the black market. Today was the third day he worked for Boss Shaw. Boss Shaw had paid a month's salary in advance and his ID card now had 60R on it.

Then as he went up to the ground, he suddenly felt that the atmosphere was obviously wrong. The past liveliness was gone and people were moving in a hurry. The exits were sparsely populated. He was a bit puzzled but the lure of potato soup was greater. He walked over. Just as he was close to getting potato soup, An Zhe's body suddenly stopped. He stood still for a second. He turned around before turning back.

"Come back." The cold voice came like snow on top of a mountain.

An Zhe thought he was unlucky as he turned around again, walking a few steps and coming to the Judge at the door. The Judge wasn't alone. There were three young judges with him who were dressed simply. He had encountered the Trial Court's daily city patrol.

He heard Lu Feng say lightly, "Stiff body movements and evasive movements, score a point."

The young judge behind him was holding a pen and paper. He listened to Lu Feng's words as he carefully watched An Zhe. Then he bowed his head to the paper and wrote something. An Zhe looked at them but happened to encounter Lu Feng's eyes and immediately glanced elsewhere.

"Dodged my eyes. Score another point." There was no change in Lu Feng's tone and the young judge behind him continued to record it.

An Zhe felt that this scene was a bit familiar. He thought about it and confirmed that the Judge wasn't simply performing patrol tasks. He was teaching new people, just like Boss Shaw and his apprentices. However, Lu Feng didn't use the same method as Boss Shaw. He taught very bluntly and wasn't a qualified mentor.

An Zhe waited for the next deduction. Then he found that although Lu Feng's teachings were very rigid, this person's attitude wasn't perfunctory as he asked, "The result?"

"Reporting to Colonel." The young judge replied, "Combining all the indicators, the person on trial belongs to the human race."

"The reason for the abnormal indicators I mentioned?"

"He is frightened of you."

Lu Feng's lips curved.