No Time

Now, why did I have to go accept that party invitation? I could have grabbed the wig and ran.

It's probably because I have a soft spot for children. And it was sad that the kid was buying his own present.

Ugh, what to do?

The taxi driver who was a person from the base noticed my frowning and inquired, "Chief?"

"What should you get for a child on his birthday?" I asked.

"Why not get a pet? Like maybe a puppy? A child can gain responsibility if he takes care of a pet, and if it's a dog, it can be useful for protection of the sort."

"A useful pet..." Oh, there is one. I'll have to ask one of the Australian researchers who have those.

We got back to the base and I handed out all the packaged jewelry to the young girls and women. They were all equally squealing over their gifts. Girls probably never age mentally, they're always happy over the gifts they get. It's kind of cute.

"Is there a chance that one of you is specialized in piercing ears?" I asked.

"Oh, this girl worked in a jewelry shop before, she pierced my daughter's ears and it was pretty well done!" a middle-aged auntie yelled and dragged a young woman up front.

"I'll trouble you to pierce my ears for me."

"Haha, no problem, thank you for the brooch! It looks very beautiful and oddly familiar..."

We went to her apartment room and she told me to wait for a second as she calmed her young baby boy down and got her tools.

The piercing didn't hurt at all and it was quick. She washed her hands and put the pale pink and pale blue earrings on my ears gently.

"Shui Yu, you're really good to us. Thank you, I really can't imagine how it would be like for my family in the future if my husband wasn't recruited by you. And I finally recognize this brooch. It's the really old piece, the Empress Eugenie Brooch. I only picked it because it looked antique, but how could I have known that it was that famous piece? Anyway, Shui Yu thank you. And come over for lunch or dinner any time you want!" she ended with a smile.

I checked my reflection with her taking a picture of me.

"Wow, you're really photogenic! I have to touch up on my selfies before I post them..."

En, I looked fine, they were at the same spot on each ear. The pale jewels only accented my calm outlook further.

"You must take care of it well. If it gets stuck on your hair because of pus at the start, it's a pain. I would suggest clamp earrings after getting used to the studs, but yours are well-made and they don't have any edges that'll get them stuck on clothing or towels. But you might still want to heal your ears with your water ability."

So I listened to her advice and healed up my skin.

Now for that gift...

It was 5 PM and the party started at 5:30.

I was dressed differently from the morning, in a blue striped suit made by the famous fashion designer Chao Ming, with her brand "CHARMING". Unexpectedly, her husband was a researcher who escaped his result-stealing boss by coming here. She said that it was the least she could do to give a suit.

She said that her husband looked happier and spent more time with her after coming here. She took up my measurements and fixed the suit up a little and coordinated my outfit.

Navy striped suit, black dress shirt, sleek black tie. I had my own leather shoes, so that was fine.

Next, she parted my hair, tied the ends very tightly with a white ribbon and put an appropriate handkerchief in the pocket on my lapel.

"I've gotten a long list of customers who are attending the party you're going to, so I know what style most guests would be in. I'm sure you'll fit right in!" she said before gathering up all the other people she knew to wish me good luck.

It's quite embarrassing to have a large group of women and children, as well as your employees(the researchers and hackers), come out just to say good luck. An English researcher gave me a bouquet of roses, saying that the roses were very expensive and would knock the guests off their feet. He specifically said, "I'm one of the only people who breed these rare roses, you're very lucky."

Shane and Andrei were still in their suite, probably playing virtual games, so they didn't come out.

I carefully held the wrapped gift and flowers carefully and gave the auto-driving vehicle the directions that were on the invitation and relaxed.

It was just a minute before 5:30, 5:29, when I arrived. I could see the last of the guests entering and exited the limo with the gift and flower.

A guard inspected my invitation and looked up at me raising one of his eyebrows.

"Name?"

"Shui Yu as in Water and Rain."

The guard typed it into the tablet that he was holding and gestured for me to go in while saying, "Welcome."

He didn't sound at all welcome but rather bored.

The first thing I noticed when I went in was that there was a large screen on the top-ish part of the huge hall. The mansion was huger than ours and by a large margin too, so it was expected that their hall was huge.

Anyway, the large screen was showing the names of guests and it was separated into VIPs and regular guests. And strangely, I was on the VIP list.

"Shui Yu! You came!" a familiar voice bounded through the hall that was full of whispering, talking, and light laughter.

The guests all quieted down and looked at the running birthday boy.

"I recognized your name! I thought you wouldn't come! I'll give you the thing at the end of the party, so stay until then." The thing clearly meant the wig.

The young boy, Yang Xiaoshen, smiled brightly and reached his hand out.

"Here you go." I handed him the roses and his present.

The butler came forward and intercepted, accepting the presents in Yang Xiaoshen's stead.

"Be careful, those are Irukandji jellyfish. I acquired 7 of them, and they're in small tubes. You only need to feed them some fish eggs or algae and they'll be fine. Throwing them at an enemy will definitely help when you're in danger."

Yes, the useful pets brought me the idea of the most feared jellyfish, the Irukandji jellyfish, which were the smallest jellyfish in the world.

The butler frowned but let Yang Xiaoshen open up the gift. 7 tubes full of the clear slime-like creatures were put in a stable test tube rack.

"Thank you!" Yang Xiaoshen was delighted. Hm, I knew it, pets really are a good choice.

"And these are Juliet roses. The person who bred them said that he genetically modified them so they could be planted even after they were cut."

"My mother would like these," Yang Xiaoshen muttered.

"Our table is the one with the red table cover, after getting food from the buffet table, you should come over," he told me.

So I went to the buffet table and picked out various foods. Some were strange but smelled good, I would ask what they are if they taste good. Maybe the chefs at the base could re-create them.

I didn't put a clamp on my hearing sense. Just in case someone was dissing me.

I first listened in onto the birthday boy's conversation

"Mother, here, Juliet roses. These can be planted even after cut, isn't that unique?"

"...Ah Shen, who gave you these?"

"My friend, Shui Yu. I think he may be even richer than father!"

"I don't think I know this Shui Yu?"

The butler butt in: "Madame, Shui Yu is somebody we only met today. He gifted the black & red diamond studs that young master is wearing right now and he also gave Irukandji jellyfish as a gift."

"My... what an interesting man."

"Madame, after research, he seems to be a 16-year-old student of the Guoji Academy."

"16?"

"Yes, and he doesn't attend many classes either."

Now, why would you go research on a harmless student like me?

"Xiao Yu, you're also here?" Huh?

"Ge?"

The familiar older brother of mine smiled at me gently.

"Xiao Yu, I came here with Lu Han. Apparently, it's his friend's cousin's birthday party."

My Ge is really wonderful. Giving him away to that man... really is regretful, but that man treated Ge well. And most of all, Ge was very happy.

"Xiao Yu, when are you coming home?" he asked.

"Ge, I have some business to finish up. I'll come home next week or the week after that. And when I come back, I have something to tell you guys." I would finally tell them about the base.

"Ok, take your time. I'll make some mantous when you come back. You know I'm the best at making those." Ge patted my shoulder.

"Mm, I only like the ones you make."

"Shui Jing, your brother's here too." That deep voice, I recognized it.

"Mr. Lu," I nodded.

"No need to be so polite, just call me jiězhàng."

"Lu Han!" My brother blushed furiously.

"Sǎo, why don't you go play somewhere else," I responded.

"Xiao Yu..." Ge was rolling his eyes.

"Alright, I'll go play with your brother somewhere else," Lu Han only smirked and dragged Ge away by hooking his arm around Ge's side.

"Ge, don't drink so much alcohol. You know what happens," I reminded.

As they walked away, Lu Han asked Ge, "Oh, what are you like when you're drunk?"

"You don't need to know!"

Hm, might as well drink some wine. They had some good quality wine here. Oh, that one's from 1886, how antique.

I gathered the several plates full of food and headed to the table with red cover.

"Beauty, my heart was stolen away by you, may I have the chance of knowing your name?" I heard a flirtatious tone as I was heading towards the table.

Oh, some rich 2nd generation flirting with a girl.

"Master Jiang, I already have a fiancee," she said, and the "Master Jiang" moved on to another lady. Playboy.

"Shui Yu, sit next to me!" Yang Xiaoshen called.

"I'm older than you. You should call me Ge."

"Then... do you have an English name?" Yang Xiaoshen fidgeted in his seat.

"Why do you ask?"

"I... I want to call you what nobody else calls you. Think of it as another birthday present for me!"

"Rain. My English name is Rain. But my American friends call me Rain too. What are you going to call me then?"

"...Don't you have another name?"

"No."

"Then can I call you Zuan? As in diamond?"

"Is it because I gave you your earrings?"

"Kind of."

"Ok, that's fine. Oh, let me see your ears. I've already gotten mine pierced, see." I lifted my hair and tucked it behind my ear to let him see the pale blue diamond stud on my right ear.

"I've gotten it pierced too, but it hurts a little bit right now." He touched his ears and showed me. His little ears were red and kind of puffy.

"Pft, here, let me see." Yang Xiaoshen came closer to me and I touched his ears.

"Pain, pain, go away," I chanted lightly while applying my water ability on his ears.

"Oh, you have to do one more thing. My nanny said that you must kiss the hurting spot. But kissing my ears would be weird, so you should kiss my forehead," he said with an expectant look.

The corner of my lips twitched. If this guy wasn't a kid, he'd have already been sued for sexual harassment.

I kissed my thumb and pressed it to Yang Xiaoshen's forehead. He gave a look as if I was cheating.

"There, and I'll call you Little Blue from now on. Little blue is a good nickname."

"That's why almost everyone here is wearing blue! Because they want to celebrate my birthday," the little boy proudly stated.

"How old are you?" I realized that I still didn't know how old he was.

Little Blue grinned widely, showing his pearly whites that sparkled next to his equally sparkling earrings.

"I'm 6 years old and I'm going into 1st grade soon. My cousin told me that stud earrings would make me look cool and told me to buy these, but used up my money for gambling instead. But I think it was fate that led me to meet you, don't you think?"

Seriously, this kid could become a ladykiller in the future. Child, you shouldn't act like this...

"Who taught you to say these kinds of words?" I asked with a sigh.

"My cousin. I was planning on not letting him come but he showed up with his friend and friend's friend, so I couldn't help but let them enter."

"Mm, it's good that you don't hold grudges for so long. Ok, as a 6-year-old, you have to eat a lot to grow tall. Eat."

"Will I grow taller than you if I drink lots of milk?" Little Blue asked expectantly with those pure innocent eyes.

Milk doesn't necessarily help you grow, but it could bring out the potential height, so maybe?

"Yes, if you drink milk and eat lots of healthy food, you'll grow taller than me."

"Ok!"

So while I drank wine elegantly, Little Blue drank his milk elega-well, as best as he could.

I wiped off his milk mustache and told him not to say the words and phrases that his cousin had taught him to anyone other than the person he was sure he'd marry. After all, loyalty was very important to couples.

"Then is my cousin bad?"

"No, he just seems like the man who would go for every girl he sees. That will make the person who likes him very sad."

After the dinner, Little Blue was to go up on stage and thank people for coming. Then he'd open all the presents one by one. Was I supposed to leave my present for later?

"Today is my 6th birthday. Friends and family, thank you for coming to celebrate." He didn't sound as childish as before, but more like a calm and mature young master. After that, he gave a whole lengthy speech. It was impressive that a little boy could memorize this much.

The gifts were extremely extravagant. Some gifted him keys to sportscars, some gave him expensive clothes, and most of it was money.

At some time of point, my presents had also been packaged again and put at the back along with the Juliet Roses.

Little Blue smiled as he got to it and opened it. The butler announced what it was. He knew every item and probably memorized who gave them, he was very capable.

"Zuan, thank you for giving me presents! The Juliet Rose reminds me of you, the Irukandji jellyfish remind me of how we met, after all, they symbolize fate. And with the diamond earrings... I hope they really symbolize what I hope."

What's with this fancy speech? It was probably mandatory, he gave frivolous thanks to every gift after all.

"Your welcome. Happy birthday Little Blue."

As it was the last gift, Little Blue had said this right in front of me. It made me a little embarrassed.

It was time for a night-long dance and those who had come from a long distance were recommended to stay the night. Of course, I would go back home after the party ended.

"Xiao Yu, we are going home, come home soon, ok?" Ge came over to my table and left before the dance started.

"Ok, be careful. Wait, are you drunk?"

Oh no... When Ge was drunk, he-

"Wuwuwuwu, Xiao Yu do you not like us anymore? Even Xiao Lai and Xiao Bing are in a bad mood these days... Xiao Bing is cooking so much that my tongue hurts automatically when I come over. And Xiao Lai trains even more than me and asks for duels at any time... What should I do? Xiao Yu, come back quickly soon, we all miss you..."

-starts crying, loses control over his charm power and complains about everything on his mind...

Everyone started looking over to see the charming man crying crystal clear tears with a flushed face. It looked captivating and they couldn't help but want to get closer.

"Mr. Lu, please take Ge home. As quick as you can and don't stop for traffic lights. Just take him home and let him cool off. And don't let anyone else see him. It'd be preferable if you kept yourself away as well." I handed my Ge to his boyfriend and quickly ushered them away. If they even waited a little, people would crowd and bring trouble to Ge. He was really useless when he was in this state and people wanted to kidnap him whenever he was drunk.

After they left, Little Blue was sent away to play with other children. He made a grimacing look as he was pulled away by the butler.

Suddenly, I felt a weird atmosphere in the air. Not limiting my sight, smell, and fully using the hearing sense I had already taken the limit off of, I could sense a musky smell that I was very familiar with from the ceiling.

How foolish of me not to check the surroundings after thinking it was safe. I would have to train myself more strictly after this.

But right now, it wasn't me that was in danger, it was the host of this party, Little Blue.

I quickly snatched away the child and pushed away from the other children so that they wouldn't be in the target's range.

Yes, there was an assassin on the chandelier. He had hidden well and was wearing clothes and special chemical paint that blended him into the surrounding perfectly.

I could hear the cries of the surprised children as I ran away from the spot. And just as I did, I also heard a deafening shot. Ugh, I should have limited my hearing sense.

"Little Blue, don't be scared," was all I told the frozen child as I went and jumped on a table and swung around some other chandeliers to take the assassin off.

He had many daggers ready and was quite skilled if not for the fact that I was practically not human by now.

He jumped from chandelier to chandelier and flung daggers at me. The crowd below were panicking and guards started coming in to situate the people.

I let him jump around as I dodged the weapons easily. With my discerning eye, I calculated which way he would move towards. Left, right, or maybe down?

All of a sudden, my head hurt a little and I could see a sight of the assassin jumping down and running towards Little Blue.

Was this my random power? Seeing the future? This kind of powerful ability had side effects, what would it be?

For now, all I could do was subdue the assassin. I couldn't kill him in a place filled with so many people.

A kick and he was sent down instantly. I did kick his chin which knocked his head back, so he fell to the floor head back. Must be painful... but he still stood up straight and rushed towards his target.

Was this guy not planning to escape?

I jumped down and stood in front of Little Blue.

"You aren't human," I said.

It was true, I couldn't hear the rushing heartbeat of the assassin. It was sort of like a dull thud, what machine hearts did. It was an android. To buy one of these things, it cost billions to make and even more to buy. But they were pretty useful, maybe I'd buy some in the future. I haven't seen one as good as this though, where was this thing in front of me made?

But the assassin still didn't falter and tried attacking me again and again.

Really, why was he so persistent?

I appeared before it directly and cleanly sliced its head off with my hand.

Thud.

The head fell and I could see the wires that were still fizzing from being disconnected.

The whole place went silent. Well, it was inevitable they'd be afraid of someone who could even disable androids.

I turned to leave and the crowd parted like the red sea.

"Zuan, don't go! I still haven't given back the wig!" Little Blue cried out.

"I don't ne-"

The surroundings turned dark and I fainted.