Chapter 94

Luo Qi followed Du Zhengyi into the lobby of the neighborhood office. The space wasn't exactly cramped; if this were truly a neighborhood office, it could probably accommodate about a hundred people waiting for services. However, old buildings often suffer from low ceilings, and this one was just as low, making it feel somewhat oppressive. Not to mention that the office itself was carved into a tree hollow, and the plane trees outside blocked much of the sunlight, making the interior even gloomier.

In the center of the lobby, there was a row of service counters. Following human preferences, the walls were painted red and adorned with large golden characters: Heping Street Neighborhood Government Service Center.

There were about ten seats behind the counter, enough for ten staff members to serve clients simultaneously. But Luo Qi doubted that was a human-oriented setup, as mages rarely flocked to the office. The counter didn't perfectly mimic human behavior either; if he were planning it, he would have placed ten computers on the desks.

Currently, only a young girl sat behind the counter. She had neat bangs, hair that reached just to her shoulders, and was wearing a houndstooth women's suit. Hearing them enter, she lifted her eyes and gave them a weary look.

Du Zhengyi walked straight toward her, and she gave him a professional smile devoid of any warmth. "Sir, I think you've come to the wrong place."

The girl glanced impatiently at Luo Qi, who was standing beside him. Luo Qi noticed her eyes were quite light in color, her nose bridge was delicate, her chin was sharp, and her cheekbones were so prominent they looked like they could cut a hand caressing her face.

"I don't think so," Du Zhengyi said. "I didn't navigate here using an electronic map."

"I said you're in the wrong place," the girl said with a fake smile. "You are definitely in the wrong place."

Luo Qi glanced at her again, worried that Du Zhengyi might also lose his patience with her. However, Du Zhengyi simply extended his right hand, and a cluster of flames ignited in his palm. His voice remained gentle: "Could you please check the record for scheduled appointments?"

The girl's expression turned to one of realization, though not exactly pleasure. With a long face, she pulled over a thick ledger from the side. Luo Qi was puzzled; the receptionist at a mage office couldn't even distinguish between a human and a mage—how desolate must this place be to hire someone like this? If that was the case, he could probably find a mindless job in the magical world too.

Thinking of this, Luo Qi froze; this was a habit of thought he had grown accustomed to. Admitting his own incompetence while constantly pondering the future, he almost forgot that he was no longer the original Luo Qi. His little black cat let out a soft cry in his pocket, and he reached in to comfortingly stroke the cat's spine.

The lobby's waiting area had dozens of plastic chairs, with only one couple sitting on them. Luo Qi subconsciously looked over; they looked like mages in their posture—the same slender, tall build—and were currently leaning close, whispering to each other. He wondered what business they were waiting to conduct.

There weren't many things Luo Qi could think of that required coming to the office. Usually, mages only came to file a complaint when they felt the credit points provided by the Qionglin for their services were inaccurate. But mages could travel quite conveniently; unless they were exceptionally poor, most would take the Pendragon rail directly to the Qionglin, where the efficiency was higher. He curiously observed the young couple; they looked healthy and intelligent, hardly the type to be so poor they had to wait in line at an office.

Suddenly, Du Zhengyi reached out and touched his arm, whispering for him to go sit in the waiting area chairs and wait for him. Luo Qi was startled, snapped out of his thoughts, and nodded. Watching Du Zhengyi walk toward the corridor beside the office area, he ignored the receptionist's eye-roll, grabbed a mint from the counter, and headed toward the waiting area. Two migrant workers were sitting on the concrete steps at the entrance; as Luo Qi sat down on a cheap plastic chair, he realized he didn't remember seeing anyone else in this tree hollow when he walked in.

Luo Qi looked at the mint in his hand—it was the cheapest kind, a simple ring—and tossed it up, catching it again. The couple nearby stopped chatting and quietly observed him. Luo Qi turned his face and smiled at them; both mages avoided his gaze, and the female mage nervously smoothed her hair. He continued playing with the mint, causing his little cat to climb out of his pocket and jump around on his knees, trying to catch it.

The two migrant workers sitting at the entrance also turned back to glance at him a few times.

"Hey guys, come on in and sit," Luo Qi said with a smile, pointing his chin at the foam characters stuck to the east wall. "This is a place that serves people, people-oriented, they won't turn away fellow workers."

No one answered him. Both migrant workers turned their heads back and huddled together, whispering about something. The mage couple's gaze toward him became increasingly complex, but they restrained themselves and said nothing.

A breeze blew in from outside, and Luo Qi suddenly lifted his head, sniffing the air deeply. It was the scent of lightning, yet there was no sound of thunder. His cat let out a cry, its claws digging into his clothes as it began to climb up him. He gently stroked the black cat's spine: "Look at you, you poor little thing, how did you get so much static electricity? You're about to turn into a fuzzball."

He picked up the cat, stood up, and walked toward the entrance.

But it was already a bit too late. A figure blocked his path; he was taller than Du Zhengyi and stronger than most mages. He wore a jacket and a baseball cap pulled low, obscuring his eyes.

"Who are you?" his voice was low, as if his throat were a speaker, the sound resonating within.

"I'm here to apply for social security," Luo Qi said, holding the cat.

The burly man lifted his head slightly; the brow bone under the cap was very thick, his gaze was savage and fierce, and his jawbone was slightly prominent. In terms of age, he was a bit older than Du Zhengyi.

"I ran into Du Zhengyi on the street, and he said Teacher Liu Li would be coming today. She used to teach me, so she should still remember me... I want to see her," Luo Qi said awkwardly. "I have a bit of an impression of you too. Were we students in the same year?"

The burly man sized Luo Qi up, his gaze involuntarily drifting to the scars on the corners of Luo Qi's mouth. Earlier, he had thought this man holding a cat was smiling at him, but then he saw that both corners of his mouth had been split open. Perhaps because treatment wasn't timely, even magic couldn't fully repair those bizarre wounds. He wore a shabby jacket, the collar of the sweater underneath was frayed, and it was hard to imagine what kind of magical accident could reduce a mage to the point of relying on a stray cat for companionship.

"I don't know you," he said. "And Liu Li isn't coming today. You'd better leave."

"Huh?" the middle-aged man holding the cat exclaimed in shock. He seemed a bit alert, but the middle-aged loser looked up at him in shock, his eyes—magnified by his farsighted glasses—trembling, and the pathetic bit of dignity he had left made the area above his cheekbones flush red. "Du Zhengyi actually played me? I... ah, my little black ball..."

The little black cat seemed startled and suddenly jumped out of the middle-aged man's arms. The man acted as if he had dropped his daughter, immediately becoming hysterical and chasing after the cat.