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Protect Humanity Project
18. Address Book

18. Address Book

“What? ?”Cried Quique Setién, who was the first to exclaim. “Who is it? It must not have been kidnapped, it’s a capital crime! !”

Compared with the anger of his subordinates, Bai yi-xing appeared to be very calm: “All the Purifiers in Ovi Asia have an escort, and none of them reported missing. Is It... a woman born with new talents?”

Malo nodded. “Yes, a Lady I’ve never seen before.”

“Where did you find it?”Bai Yixing asked.

Malo stammered, “District 12... jail.”

Quique Setién, on the other side, went down. “How is that possible? Every woman has been tested since she was born, and it is impossible to leave a gifted purifier behind. Not to mention the 12th. How can there be a woman in the 12th? Isn’t That Place Full of perverts? Yes!”

Pai yi-sing looked at Malo, who was still in a trance, as if he had been upended by values: “More importantly, the commander said, the young lady cleansed 20,000 or 20,000 felons at a time...”

Before he could finish, Malo saw the white star turn and fly away, his robes fluttering behind him in a way that the normally suave senator had never looked more eager.

In fact, can purify more than 20,000 people at a time, even if only the shallow level of suppression, but also has reached the large purifier capacity level.

Ordinary purifiers fall into three broad categories: primary, intermediate, and advanced. A small number of federal citizens may be lucky enough to get a primary purification that will guarantee genetic stability for about a decade. The intermediate level already belongs to the noble level, the purification degree is deeper, not to mention is surrounded by ten thousand high purifiers.

The Great Purifier is another realm, where there are only nine people on the planet, only one in Ovia, and no one has been seen for a long time due to the continued decline of power. The Great Purifier and the Holy One, only one of whom appeared 50 years ago, are long gone.

If the federal government were to pay a price for the presence of a great purifier, whatever it took, even if it was land, they would agree. This is the lure of absolute power.

  *

The fort guarding the 12th Precinct has never been more alive.

Anyone who looks at the tens of thousands of felons who should be locked up would be surprised to see them sharing a room with soldiers guarding the border.

After a night of bitter fighting, the morning sun was shining on the ruined Gobi, the smell of blood and gunpowder was blown away, and a team of more than 20 men dug deep holes near the city walls, burying the bodies of those who had died in battle one by one. Some of the soldiers stared at them from a distance with their weapons, like sheepdogs at sheep, and there was still a kind of tension between the two sides.

Joice squatted on the roof, watching the prisoners come and go, rushing to add ten years to their sentences, and God knows what an affront to the dignity of a soldier that night.

As a border officer, he had to guard not only against countless perverts in the no man’s land, but also against the hardened criminals who, one by one, were carrying human lives. If either of them escaped, billions of people along the border would suffer.

Whatever it takes to secure the perimeter, that’s what the Federation wants him to do.

But in Duan Moyan’s eyes, he was a qualified officer, but not a kind man.

Not far from Joice, page sat by the pool, one leg crossed, the other long and naturally hanging, lazily engaged in personal hygiene. Drops of water made his dark hair even more lustrous, his healthy complexion like honey in the sun, and his well-proportioned limbs all revealed the strength and agility of his master.

Joice’s eyes burned at the sight of the man. “I hate cats,”he said

“It is a gentleman’s self-discipline to be neat and tidy,”he added, pausing. “A stupid bird like you wouldn’t understand.” “That’s why no one wanted to help you purify for so many years. People who hate you can make an army.”

Joice rose from his seat, his red hair bristling with irretrievable feathers, sticking out from under his head. People who have not been genetically cleansed have a hard time controlling their own metamorphosis, which is why we try to avoid morphological exposure.

He was so angry that he jumped: “The last name of Pei you have no right to question Laotse, Yes Yes yes, I just did not accept purification, I am bad luck for women.”

“Wait a minute,”Joice said suddenly, looking at page. “I don’t. Do You?”

He remembered how many times the man had shown signs of genetic disorder while still in the service, and how many times he had traded his points for ATP after entering District 12, but the night had passed without seeing him inject drugs, and he was remarkably stable.

“How is this possible...”Joice couldn’t believe it.

Nearby, Murphy, tours, and Guerin approached, clutching some bottles and bags, followed by some strange looking soldiers.

“Commander, these people, without any hesitation, burst into our kitchen.”One man complained.

We can’t fight them, and we’re afraid to ask.

They mumbled to themselves and to Joice as hewent over their heads.

Guerin opened the bottle in his hand. “Boss, we found some milk in the soldiers’mess.”

“I found flour, and they had meat,”said Murphy, holding several paper packages that, apart from a few blackened spots, made out to be a loaf of bread, but looked like hell.

“Is that what you’re feeding her?”Joice said

They looked back at him, and Murphy snorted, “Moyan ate worse than this at A3, and after a few days she’s going to be eating grass roots with us.”

Joice’s face twitched and he took a deep breath before he gnashed his teeth. “If I had known she was... well, come with me.”

He took a few steps, but no one answered.

Joice was livid. “Follow me to the kitchen! I’ll Get You... food.”

And in the process of comatose Duan Mo Yan, do not know their existence has been known, the imperial authorities, has been considering how to settle and win her.

The Sky is full of dark clouds, and it’s going to rain cats and dogs.

And in the center of the heavy rain Duan Mo Yan, just beautiful to sleep, feel the body was hollowed out energy back, the spirit of better than before, and the tree hanging fruit tree also seems to pull up some.

She rubbed her face against the soft bedding, the brain is not yet awake, slowly stretched a lazy waist, action to do half suddenly found that something is wrong, suddenly a carp play straighten up.

“Where is it?”

In the middle of the large bedroom was a single iron-gray bed, surrounded by iron cabinets, and nothing more than an archive, which did not look like a place to live.

There was a small window beside the bed, with the curtains drawn at the moment, and a light peeking through. Duan Mo Yan walked over, grabbed the edge yanqi, white light suddenly appear.

Her Eyes Twitch, who did not expect to wake up to see a group of men, in broad daylight-in the bath.

There was a space in front of the dormitory building of the guard fort. There was a pool with about a dozen faucets. Although the water was cold, it was hot in the desert during the day. Most of the men didn’t care.

A great crowd of young men gathered at the edge of the pool to collect clean water with buckets, spoons, or hands, and to wash away the blood and dirt that had been stained from the night of the battle. There’s a bathroom in the barracks, but they won’t let the felons use it.

Murphy and Greendale Crouch near a faucet. Murphy, whose long hair has been twisted into dreadlocks by the blood from his canine battle, takes a lot of effort to wash this giant dog, so he got down on his hands and knees and asked his buddies to help him.

Tours stroked down Murphy’s hair with a scrub brush, and the white foam, mixed with dirt and dog hair, was washed away and trickled down the stream.

Tours gasped, and Guerin, standing by, filled a pail of water and poured it all over Murphy, instantly cleaning the dog.

Satisfied, Murphy stood up and began to shake her head quickly. The water was dripping like rain.

Guerin and Tours squinted, soaking wet. The Sun they simply took off their vests, exposing a sun-tan muscle, symmetrical curve hanging beads, but the lower half of the body still wearing a pair of inconvenient boxer shorts, wet after clinging to the body.

Guerin was covered with scabs that had healed quickly after his wounds had burst, and he would not have made it through the night without the cleansing power of his face. With this in mind, Guerin picked up a bucket of cold water and poured it over his head.

Cold water dripping wet his hair, washed his scarred body, in the foot into a trickle.

“Brush-”a subtle movement suddenly appeared, the cloth was pulled apart.

Guerin looked back and saw a slender figure looking down from a window in a sunny room on the second floor.

“She’s awake,”he said, relieved.

Tours, who was washing his hair, turned away with his eyes closed. “What are you talking about?”

“Oh, MO...”

Then Guerin’s face suddenly turned red, and he was naked, with a small towel in his hand, and he didn’t know whether to cover his face or not

Fortunately, the next second, Duan Mo Yan has been re-closed the curtains.

Tours was soaking his head, ignoring him, and Guerin stood there feeling the oil boil, even the drops of water on his body getting hot.

He won’t be showering in the open air for a long time.

Duan Meiyan saw a group of men sunbathing, although only a few seconds, but the eye-catching style of painting in Jinjiang are absolutely not allowed to appear in the x-rated Camera!

It was only then that she really understood what they meant by the “Gender imbalance”-- they did not even consider the presence of women.

Eat, a group of men together; take a bath, a group of men together; even go to the toilet, can not find a female toilet.

I don’t know if it’s like this in the other boroughs, but if it is, it’s too bad.

Duan Mo Yan found his coat, opened the door and went out. It was the interior of a fortified fortress, crisscrossed with corridors leading to rooms of varying marks, and as she turned a corner, a person came walking quickly across from her and nearly flew off.

Thanks to the man’s quick reaction, a hand flew around her waist, and their faces felt as if they had touched a warm body on their cheeks, and their bodies had been brought close to him, and their breathing had for a moment been so close, it’s just that the hand came right down.

“My Lady, are you all right?”said the adjutant, Romont, smiling as he stood by.

Duan Mo Yan back to God, long long his sleeve: “Nothing.”

Right in front of her, she had been nearly run over by a man, Joice, who was staring down at her with a straight face, his eyes burning like hot coals.

Duan Mo Yan to this officer’s impression is very bad, see him this appearance also don’t want to talk at all, a wrong step is going to pass him. Suddenly the wrist was pulled, the temperature of the large hand to hold her only for a moment and let go.

“Wait a minute,”the man called to her.

“Tomorrow, I will personally escort you to District 1, where the State Council has issued a directive that the purifiers be given priority protection to return to a safe area, after which you will be placed by a unified council,”said Joyce bonbon, as if he were a robot, one of the adjutants looked at him questioningly, wondering how the usually hot-tempered commander had turned to wood.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

“1 District?”Duan mo yan paused, “Can not go?”

Joice looked at her and shook his head. “No.”

She pursed her lips, i added to my dislike of the house, “On one condition: you unlock the five prisons in the 12th district immediately and reopen the supply chain. People’s lives are not the playthings of the rich and powerful, and it is not up to you whether they live or die.”

“I’m in charge,”Joice said stiffly as she listened

Duan Mo Yan has a moment of surprise, and then directly laughed: “What do you say?”

“Didn’t you order the blockade? Didn’t you kill all those people? Didn’t you throw the degenerates into no man’s land?”

Joice frowned. “The Fuehrer proposed the rotten seed’s executive policy, not mine. It was me who ordered the blockade, but it was also because A1 was the first to erupt in civil unrest, and if we don’t find a leader, the entire 12th district will collapse

At last Romont could not hear any more, he stepped forward and bowed slightly: “Your Ladyship, please don’t get angry, we respect your wishes, the blockade of the 12th district will be opened immediately, no one will starve to death.”. In addition, I feel it is necessary to clear the name of the commander. We do not take the lives of others at will. The blockade is only to quell the riots in the prison. It will be lifted when things calm down.”

The Moyan nodded, and without hesitation turned away. “No need to explain. I Don’t care about your lives, but I hope you’ll do what you say.”

She didn’t give Joice a look, her long flowing hair matted in pure black satin at the back, and she was soon out of sight at the corner of the hallway, like a floating cloud.

Joice remained where he was, staring straight at her as she walked away. The next moment the COM went off, and he reached out impatiently.

“Malo, do something!”

“Reinforcements? No! Just escort her on the Skyrail to Sector 1. I’ll be fine on my own!”

Joice hung up the parliamentary call in a petulant manner, looking at the direction the Moyan was leaving and not moving at all, in an unexpectedly doleful manner.

Romont looked around at the Iron Han Han Han, suddenly feel very tired. If the commander doesn’t get it, he may have to endure a long ordeal, which might not be a bad thing for Joice, who has been disdainful for most of his life.

Moyan was led out of the fort by the guards, who repeatedly refused their requests for a personal escort, and she walked alone into the clearing behind the fort.

In front of the public bath of the square is also lively, a wall of the Gobi, only Xi hot wind blowing bare sand rock, those one by one of the small mound, quietly rendering boundless loneliness.

The soles of her shoes crunched on the gravel, and Moyan walked over to the wall of concrete and stone that had been smashed by the crowd and looked out silently at the vast expanse of the Gobi, it had a couple of names vaguely written on it.

Overnight, those of you who have stepped out of the A3 will be buried here forever.

Moyan rubbed her eyes and found a bunch of wild flowers at the base of the wall. There were no plants in the desert, though they were only small flowers. She dug out the roots and planted them carefully beside the grave.

The yellow wildflowers fluttered pitifully against the wind, as if they were about to fall, but they were also incredibly stubborn, as if nothing could bring them down.

Moyan stood alone for a moment, feeling the sound of footsteps behind him.

A familiar breath appeared on her right rear, and Moyan exhaled a slow, turbid breath, she said, with a touch of emotion: “The odious man said that he would take me to the First District Tomorrow, by order of some parliament, and that there would be no turning back. If that’s all we get, we might as well not have an A3.”

The Peiji behind her looked at the stray strands of her hair and the little white pinna of her ear, “Congress has the largest legislative power in the state, and it also regulates all the movements of Purifiers,”he said. “If you were exposed, you would have no choice. That’s why I want to take you away.”

He laughed at himself. “Sure enough, we overestimate ourselves.”

Overestimating your power to lead you to freedom.

“I’m sorry.”

The Moyan looked back at him, his eyes bright as black crystal under the blue sky, and the Peiji felt as soft as water, he lowered his voice. “Don’t worry. Murphy, Guerin, and tours will be with you. You Won’t be alone.”

And the Moyan said, “What about the others?”

“The term of imprisonment did not finish, only continue to return to prison service.”Pei Jidan Way, he seems to have guessed this outcome.

The Moyan nodded, and she took a deep breath. “May they live in peace.”

“It will,”said Peiji.

The 20,000 or so who have been cleansed are beyond the power of the ordinary garrison to suppress. She has given the lower classes a gift they could not even hope for. From now on, this group will be the strongest support for a young girl, wherever she goes, no matter what the enemy, as long as the horn blows, they will not hesitate for her Remember the Titans, which is the charm of the Purification Division.

I will watch from this day until I die; I will live and die faithfully.

  *

By nightfall, a bonfire had been lit in the square outside the fort, and a crowd of men were sitting in the open air, barbecuing, and, according to Murphy, they had plundered good things from the soldiers’mess, for the girls’last night in District 12.

The Moyan, however, was ushered into the fort’s mess hall, where they sat down to a “Staff meal”with the Peiji.

The dining hall was large enough to seat thousands of people, and bright and silver square tables were placed side by side.

The soldiers rubbed and looked around, and Moyan always felt like someone was watching her, but when she looked up, the young soldiers would turn their eyes away, one by one, their hands in their laps, look straight ahead and don’t move, cosplay waxworks.

Murphy, next to her, kept filling her plate: “You eat quickly foam Yan Ah, steak cold is not delicious.”

The steak he was talking about was a large, thick slab of meat, in the right amount for a man, scorched to the point that it overflowed with juicy meat.

But... This steak is two pounds, right? Even if she can eat, but look at their own in front of the “Luxury version of the staff meal”is also somewhat daunting.

Murphy and others, by contrast, had the most common bread and vegetable mash on their plates, a large but “Normal staff meal,”where the Moyan was a little shy about eating her own. She pulled a few steaks from her plate with a knife, and gave it to someone else.

See a few little friends all eat meat, she was satisfied with a smile, showing the cheek small pear vortex.

The soldiers all around made one after another sucking sound, humming a discussion.

‘Ah... she even shared her food with other people.’

‘she’s so beautiful and kind.’

Are all purifiers such angels

I, I want to follow her

A pink bubble formed in the soldier’s heart, and Joice, who was nearest to her, was not amused. The Peiji next to him slowly sliced the meat he had been given by the Moyan himself, lifted it lightly with a fork, and carried it into his mouth with the grace of a rare delicacy.

At the same time, Peiji gave him a seemingly oblivious glance, a glance of amusement.

Joice could not tell what he was feeling, and he was the only one at the table who was invisible, which was probably worse than eating dead meat, and he let out a heavy “Hum”.

Moyan looked at him suspiciously, not understanding what was wrong with him. She did not know why he had to sit at the table with them. He was no friend at all, for he had been shouting at them the night before.

But at least in other people’s territory, it must be tolerated.

She looked at Guerin on the other side. “Guerin, are you all right?”

The latter was fighting a chubby little pea with a fork, and as she called out to her, one of her men pushed, and the pea flew straight up, spinning three hundred and sixty degrees in the air and landing on the ground.

Guerin stammered, “I’m fine. I’m fine... Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”The Moyan smiled.

Guerin was sitting on Joice’s right, and Moyan had to go over someone to talk to him. Her neglect had left Joice in a slump, his usual temper about to explode, but he just hung his head and didn’t speak today, even the bright red flame hair seemed to lose its luster.

Peiji had no sympathy for his former acquaintance, but drank from his glass.

“What are you drinking?”

When the Moyan noticed him, the Peiji put down his glass and said, “Would you like a taste?”

“May I?”She gasped.

“Of course.”

So, Duan’s foam Yan got a few hundred years later on the earth made of human wine.

The Peiji gave her only a little of it, and poured it into a small opaque glass, which was a little purplish red, and looked like a very sweet and delicious wine, but that was not enough, thought Moyan.

Soon she knew she was wrong. It was as if an atomic bomb had been dropped from her mouth and exploded on the spot in a mushroom cloud that covered the Moyan from mouth to nose, from the throat to the stomach filled with the bitter and hot taste, her whole face wrinkled into a ball, lying on the table for a long time can not get up.

Murphy handed over a glass of milk. “How are you? We Can’t drink this eucalyptus either. Only the boss likes it. It’s too strong.”

The Peiji glanced at Murphy and patted her on the back. “Still, it’s good for your health. Do you want to try again?”

The Moyan drank the glass of milk in one gulp and waved his hand again and again: “No, no, you can’t appreciate it.”

Peiji was amused, her left thumb flicking around the corner of her lip to pick up the remnants of the milk and make a gesture of affection.

Joyce, staring across the room, snorted and burned like a ball of fire, rose abruptly and strode out of the restaurant.

Moyan looked at this popular figure and wondered, who’s bothering him? Then Joice’s aide, Romont, came up and presented a small box.

“Dear young lady, this is a personal terminal specially designed for you by the commander. You can not connect to the Internet because your identity is not registered, but you can already use the most basic functions,”Romont said.

Inside the box was a smart watch of the same style as everyone else. It was silver and the metal clasp on the wristband was silver.

Moyan had always wanted a personal terminal, but Joice was the first to grant her wish.

Although the perception of this person more complex, but she said: “Please thank him for me.”

Romont bowed. “Your affection is the best way to thank your commander.”

The personal terminal is the standard device of the federal citizen in this era. It integrates the functions of smart phone, ID card, bank card, passport, pass and so on. It has gradually become a mature prototype of artificial intelligence.

In addition to the difference in size and color, the female model is more sophisticated, with a crisis alert feature and a terminal that monitors the body’s vital signs.

The Moyan put it on his wrist, and a small electronic screen popped up. “Welcome to starnet 30.0, Madam,”the soft female voice said. “Matching my information.”

Moyan felt only a flash of light sweep over her eyes, and she blinked, the next second listen to the terminal said: “Iris scan completed, the new login account has been registered, because the star network did not retrieve the iris matching information, please manually enter your ID, and then to the 1 district hall for registration matters.”

She looked at the Peiji, which nodded at her, but she didn’t think it was going to happen.

“ID name: Moyan, successfully registered.”The next second, the virtual screen throws up a bunch of Scala functions, “The communication function and the list have been opened, the visitor identity browsing network function has been opened, the identity information is not complete, the financial function is not complete...”

As She Moyan, a holographic map projected onto the screen, revealing a fortified fortress, a tiny red dot flashing with her breath.

All around her, countless gray dots lined up, and she tried to zoom in on the map, her fingers touching the nearest gray dot.

[ ID: Peiji 3628171]

Genetic species: Panthers-jaguars

Age: 27

Position: Former Deputy Head of the Chiri Regiment

Option: contact him/block him/add a friend immediately

The last sentence was in bold, and the Moyan clicked the words “Contact him immediately,”and the next moment the terminal on the Peiji’s wrist emitted a high-pitched blast of music, “A strange young lady is checking your messages, please connect now! Connect now! Connect now!”The voice of a mechanical woman urged

The music stops, and Peiji’s name turns pink at the Moyan, as Moyan looks on in amazement.

“Successfully added the first address book friend, for you automatic note: Leopard.”Her personal terminal prompted.

“Mo Yan, I also want to be your friend,”Murphy said admiringly

“Sure.”

“No, it has to be you.”

“Since you don’t have a login id right now, you’re the only one who can see us, and we can’t see you,”explains Moyan, Peiji

“Well, that’s a nice way to hide your identity...”the Moyan said to herself, and she began friending them one by one.

ID: Murphy 3761839

Genetic race: Canine-tibetan Mastiff + Golden Retriever

Age: 20

[ ID: Grimm ]

Genetic race: Pangolin-pangolin

ID: Tours

Genetic race: Ostriches-turkey Eaters

  ……

Each of them has a different profile picture, some like Murphy as a selfie, some like Peiji as a cat’s Paw Print, and Tours and Guerin as a blank.

Moyan set herself a portrait of a tiny flower, and as she played with it, she began to click on other little gray dots.

It turned out that Adjutant Romont was a pigeon, Montgomery was a brown bear, and Raole was a peacock.

She points to open a person, the vision is some slight stagnation, his head is like a red-hot feather.

Pei Ji droops mou to once glance, light way: “Add Bar, the future may need to contact.”

Moyan struggled for a moment, but chose to add friends instead.

ID: Joice Duncan 3635281

Genetic species: Falconidae-eagle

Age: 27

Post: Border Guard Commander/former deputy head of the Chiri Regiment

The Moyan noticed something familiar about his position, and Murphy interjected across the way: “We Used to know each other a little bit. We served in the same regiment a few years ago, but he always liked to compete with the boss.”

Peiji leaned back, a hand stretched out to the side, as if he were not speaking of himself, “His genetic origin is the Raptor, the most aggressive bird of prey in the world, and he’s more than that,”he says, resting lightly on the back of his Moyan Chair. “If it weren’t for his character, no one would want to purify him.”

Moyan: That’s the truth.

“Ding Dong”sound, friend application will soon pass.

And in the dark dormitory, a person nest in the bedside, his eyes bright looking at the hands of the terminal, even if the ID under any information, the other side did not say a word, he can read again and again.

That night, bonfires burned in the square in front of the fort into the early morning. Some drank, some cried, and others ran to the Moyan drunk to confess their love.

Montgomery slapped the ground, stood up, and shouted, “I’m going to ask the Moyan for friendship!”

The Rao Le of flank disrelish died: “What Madness, have courage you go!”

Not long after he came back, Yan Ba of, jest asked him: “So quickly added Ah?”

Montgomery hiccupped. “Hell, the line has gone around the square three times, and I haven’t seen anyone break through the Peiji.”

“Tut, Tut, Tut, Tut, Tut, Tut, Tut, Tut,”he shook his head regretfully, holding up the bottle in his hand, the translucent glass reflecting the orange glow of the campfire, his eyes sparkling with water, his thoughts drifting away like the wind.

Even if you can’t be who you are, you have my blessing, Angel from the desert.

  *

The next morning, Moyan awoke to the lingering smell of barbecue on her nose. She pulled back the curtains, expecting to see a crowd of men in full swing, the broken concrete wall is being repaired and the high-voltage power grid has been restored.

There are fewer than 20 of the Alpha 3’s Felon Brethren left.

Murphy comforted her: “Have gone, for fear of parting sad, the dawn has left.”

“Those who remain are serving out their sentences,”Tours said. “Even if they do not leave, the garrison will not agree. These two days have been their greatest concession.”

The Moyan nodded.

Outside the fort stood a group of heavily armed soldiers, all in crisp military uniforms, several military land cruisers parked at the door, some supplies tied to the roof of the car.

Joice wore a black uniform and black boots, which made his legs look extra long, and he had an unruly, impatient look. My eyes lit up when I saw the Moyan approaching.

“Get on the bus, there’s only a prisoner transport station around here. We Can’t take it. We have to get to the Airbus platform in Sector 11, preferably before nightfall, or we’ll be sleeping in the wilderness,”Joice said grimly.

A soldier opened the car door for her, and the Moyan got in and sat down, only to be stopped as Murphy prepared to follow.

“You guys go in the back,”Joyce said. “A little self-awareness for a hitchhiker.”

Murphy grinned, but turned back. When they left, Peiji saw him still standing by the door, his eyes cold, and Joice’s. Their eyes crackled in the air as if they were about to fight.

The Moyan, not wanting to make a scene, reached up and pulled at the sleeve of his Peiji. “I’m fine,”he said. “You can sit in the back.”

The Peiji looked down deeply at her, and then at Joice again. “Get rid of the excess thoughts in your head. If you can’t protect her, you know what will happen.”

Joyce scowled, but said nothing, just reached for the door and sat down.

He was a big man, a little shaky on the way in, and there was plenty of room in the S.U.V. , but he was too tall and leggy to sit across from the Moyan, his knees barely touching hers.

They looked at each other, and Moyan was not good with such a strong man, and she kept a wary posture, leaning herself against the wall of the carriage and away from him.

Joice lowered his head somewhat dolefully, patted the car, and shouted, “Drive!”