You Smelled Wrong Chapter 6: Why is Heinrich still there?

Chapter 6: Why is Heinrich still there?

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Karai

 

Lin Xu sat down on the doorstep, fished out his long-forgotten terminal, and checked his work mailbox.

Letters from editors, books from publishers, invitations to lectures …a letter of invitation for a study tour from the Imperial Institute, an appointment to talk with Arnold…And one sent ten days ago…greetings from Heinrich Chu?

Lin Xu frowned and clicked on it.

“Mr. Lin Xu, rest well during this time, I won’t bother you again.”

A string of screenshots of medical advice and notes on the use of nutrients followed below.

Lin Xu’s eyebrows relaxed and he kept seeing the last row of words, then tossed the terminal aside and tilted his head to look at the calm night sky. The night wind blew away the thick clouds, countless stars bloomed in the universe, and brighter than the stars were the giant searchlights of the space elevator connected to the main star.

Except for the first few years of the interstellar era, Lin Xu hardly touched technological artifacts, and the curator’s claim that he was an anti-technology activist was inaccurate. Lin Xu had no opinion on the progress of human technology, but was easily drawn into the memories of the past.

Ten years after the apocalypse began, humans built a brick wall in the survivor base to withstand the wave of zombies, nuclear radiation and harsh winters. It was Lin Xu’s third year of undergoing the apocalypse transformation, and the transformation process had reached its fifth time, a deep-sea mutant gene transplant.

He voluntarily underwent the transformation, but after several trips under the surgical lights and suffering from the pain of genetic mutation, he inevitably resisted the cold metal apparatus. When the chief physician in charge of the transformation asked him during the recovery chat what he wanted to do if the apocalypse was over.

Lin Xu replied, “Find a place where there is no one and no operating room, build a wooden house and live there, raise a dog, a cat and fish.”

The chief physician, who had been around Lin Xu and knew him well, smiled and asked, “Can you really stand a life as quiet as a pool of stagnant water?”

“Why not?”

—

The celebration party was held in the evening the day after the Abyss Fleet set sail. Lin Xu changed into formal wear and drove to the Ancient Earth Natural Science Museum with an invitation.

The museum’s exterior and interior were modeled after the Neo-Roman architecture of ancient Earth, with the glow of crystal chandeliers flowing over the white, smooth marble. As Lin Xu walked down the steps, he noticed that the main hall, normally used as an exhibition venue, had been converted into a banquet hall, where waiters walked among the fancy dress guests, who mingled and smiled.

The largest exhibit in the main hall, the ancient piano, had been removed, leaving only a few small exhibits quietly displayed in a glass enclosure, adding a bit of an ancient earthly atmosphere to the celebratory banquet. The host of the party, His Royal Highness the Prince, had not yet arrived, and the hall was filled with military personnel in uniforms with military ranks, nobles with medals and family crests, and politicians who always appeared on the StarNet news page, in addition to some peers Lin Xu knew.

Without the idea of joining in any of the chatter, he headed for a deserted corner, but was just halfway there when Marianna caught him and was dragged into the crowd. She knew Lin Xu was not a talker, so she just smiled and introduced her student to her peers.

Marianna was wearing a white dress today, walking around with a dense fragrance, as if a blooming rose. Chen Jinshan accompanied her. He graduated from the military academy, not quite able to intervene in the conversation of a group of scholars, but only with a light smile on his lips watching Marianna.

Lin Xu stood aside with Chen Jinshan together as a quiet backdrop. The ancient earth scholars who did not make it into the expedition in front of them either lamented or looked forward to future academic development. In the distance, there were three or five omega noblewomen in gorgeous long dresses covering their faces with fans, gazing at Marianna and covering their faces discussing her.

Marianna was professional, gentle, dazzling, and wealthy, and she was always the center of conversation until one suddenly turned the conversation to Lin Xu and asked suspiciously, “Dr. Lin specializes in ancient Earth languages, and even the leader of this expedition, Professor Zhou Pingbo, praised Dr. Lin as the best ancient Earth language scholar, so why is he still staying on Endymion to chat?”

The woman asked seemingly sincerely, but behind it revealed unkind questioning and mockery.

Lin Xu was too young and too intelligent, which made them feel pressured, but that was not the most important thing; more importantly, Lin Xu was forever outside their system, taking away the honor and appreciation that should have belonged to the group. But Lin Xu was so out of touch that he was not even persuaded, and slowly, some people’s opinion of him changed.

No one stopped the questioner, Marianna’s smile faded, but before she could open her mouth to refute the wind, Lin Xu replied, “I don’t know Zhou Pingbo.”

His answer was simple and straightforward, but it choked the other side so much that they could barely reply. The other side hid all the irony under the words, for example, Zhou Pingbo led the expedition to ancient Earth, but Lin Xu remained in Endymion and did not depart together, perhaps Zhou Pingbo’s compliment was just a casual remark to encourage his junior, and Lin Xu might not have real talent.

As a result, Lin Xu broke their train of thought by saying, I don’t know Zhou Pingbo.

I don’t know Zhou Pingbo, so of course I won’t go and chat with him.

If the sarcasm under the dialect was the group’s unspoken intention, then Lin Xu’s answer was straight to the logic, the straightforwardness hidden under the words to show people, seemingly calm, but in fact unforgiving.

The speaker’s face turned blue and red.

Marianna grunted lightly and raised her eyebrows a little. Her student was able to talk and just did not like to, who was this group of rice buckets looking down on?

Lin Xu’s face remained unchanged, not caring what the embarrassed person thought. He and Marianna whispered a few words and then left the social circle. Marianna likewise turned around and left to go chat with her omega friends.

Lin Xu finally made his way to the unoccupied corner he had his eye on when another figure suddenly popped up and startled him.

“Professor Lin!” Ryan excitedly shouted in his ear.

Lin Xu was so startled that he took a few steps back, trying desperately to restrain his fighting instincts from swinging a fist at Ryan’s face.

“Good evening.” Lin Xu replied with a nod out of social courtesy, but Ryan, as if some switch had been flipped, chattered away, talking about everything from recent museum work to strange visitors, occasionally mentioning that his own father had refrained from stopping him from doing paleontology, and then, after he finished talking about himself, he started talking about the latest news.

The only consolation was that Ryan, though he talked a lot, did not need any reply from Lin Xu, and could talk all by himself.

Suddenly, the buzzing stopped, and the only remaining human voices were particularly obvious, like fluttering butterflies, but soon, the last of them disappeared without a trace, and only the shallow huffing sound and the regular footsteps of military boots landing steadily could be heard. There was no command, but people neatly inclined their heads to the same place, following the gaze of the crowd, the sight of the straight figure appeared in a good explanation of the sudden silence.

The man who walked down the steps and entered the venue was Heinrich Chu. He was dressed in a black military attire, more complex and gorgeous than the usual military uniform he wore, the sharp cut set his shoulders wide and legs long, adorned with the front chest of the military medals to show that this man who had fought a thousand times, was invincible. His silver hair and golden eyes under the military cap come from the dragon bloodline, and the brim of the cap created a shadow on the cold and deep face, distant and majestic.

As he walked, the crowd in the ballroom unconsciously made a path for him to pass, and bowed their heads in respectful salute. Heinrich did not smile, nor did he say a word, just walked through the crowd with a sharp gaze.

Lin Xu, who stood far behind the crowd and hid himself, was puzzled, “Why is Marshal Chu on Endymion?”

Today’s celebration banquet was for the Abyss Fleet to successfully escort the expedition to set sail, and now, instead of being on the Victoria, the owner of the Abyss Fleet appeared at the banquet. It was almost as absurd as the owner of the coffin standing up and personally presiding over his own funeral.

 

The author has something to say.

Marshal: Surprise, surprise?

 

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