Chapter 26: Send Me to Mars

"Asperger's..."

When that word left the lips of the elderly guard, Lin Xu was stunned.

What kind of "words become reality" magic was this? He had merely fabricated an Asperger's identity for the person he was looking for, and it turned out the man actually had Asperger's syndrome?

In the past, Lin Xu would have dismissed it as a coincidence. But now, he couldn't help but wonder what exactly was going wrong. Was he some kind of male version of Haruhi Suzumiya? If he told a lie saying a Gundam would appear tomorrow, would an Angel descend to destroy Tokyo immediately?

—Come to think of it, that might actually be more effective than Mount Fuji...

With his mind racing with questions, Lin Xu walked toward Lizhao Lake. From a distance, he saw a figure by the water performing radio calisthenics. The movements were exaggerated, remarkably precise, and incredibly eye-catching. Yet, the surrounding students seemed so accustomed to it that no one spared him a second glance.

How should he initiate contact? Lin Xu scratched his head. He had never been good at social interactions. He should have sought advice from the client managers before coming here.

He would just have to bite the bullet.

Seeing that Xu Jin had reached the final set of exercises, Lin Xu walked right up to him and said, "Xu Jin?"

Xu Jin seemed startled. After twitching nervously a few times and blinking rapidly over a dozen times, he took a step to the side and asked guardedly, "Who... who are you?"

"Never mind who I am. I want to have a word with you."

"No, I don't want to talk."

Xu Jin turned to leave, but Lin Xu stayed right by his side. Every time Lin Xu tried to close the distance, Xu Jin would side-step to maintain a gap of at least two meters. When he was finally backed up to the edge of the lake with nowhere else to go, Xu Jin bolted and circled around to the other side.

How was he supposed to talk to this guy?

A devious thought suddenly popped into Lin Xu's head. He spoke up: "You didn't finish your last movement!"

As soon as the words fell, Xu Jin froze in place. His muscles tensed as if he were enduring immense pain. He wanted to run, but his feet wouldn't move. After standing in a僵持 state for a dozen seconds, he suddenly began to walk backward. He moved cautiously, retracing his steps exactly along the path he had come.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder. It really was a severe case of OCD.

Lin Xu seized the opportunity and continued, "I have something important to discuss with you. If you refuse..."

"You don't... you don't have any serious business at all, you're lying to me!" Xu Jin’s speech was chaotic; he would slow down only to suddenly accelerate, spitting out a long string of words like a machine gun. "You're just lying to me, you want to pretend to be a public servant, but you're not one at all."

"You are too... you are too young, your hair is too long, you haven't shaved, you have no nails, there are marks from a backpack on your clothes, you always walk with your head down, and your eyes only look at one target."

"You... are not... any... kind of public servant."

"You're here to recruit! You're a programmer!"

"..."

Lin Xu was speechless. He’d been seen through in an instant! This Xu Jin was definitely a genius, and his talent clearly wasn't limited to materials science. No wonder he could develop those two critical materials. No wonder he had become a core member of the mysterious "Planetary Reincarnation" organization.

He shouldn't lie in front of him.

"Alright," Lin Xu said. "My name is Lin Xu. I am indeed a programmer, and I am indeed here to recruit."

"But what I want to talk to you about is something you will definitely be interested in."

"I'm not interested."

Xu Jin finally walked backward to his original spot. He lowered his head to find his footprints, carefully adjusted his stance, and began to move again. Radio calisthenics, first set.

Damn it. Starting from the beginning?

Well, that was fine too. It gave him more time to communicate.

"I guarantee you'll be interested in what I have to say. I'm going to give you the opportunity to participate in the research and development of high-strength carbon fiber materials. Specifically, PEEK material and M46X."

Lin Xu played his trump card. It wasn't that he didn't want to play games with Xu Jin, but it was clear that with someone in this state, being direct might be the only way to get results.

Sure enough, after he spoke, Xu Jin's movements paused. But he still gritted his teeth and refused to speak. It wasn't until he finished the entire set of calisthenics and performed a strange set of hand gestures in the air that he finally turned to Lin Xu.

"How do you know I'm researching these two materials? Are you... investigating me?"

"Stealing a citizen's personal information is illegal, I'm going to call the police, the police will arrest you, I..."

"Stop!" Lin Xu raised a hand to interrupt him. "I didn't steal any of your information. Everything I know about you was found online, and what I know about your research came from asking your classmates and teachers."

"We really need you, and we really need these two materials. We are Tianqiong Technology, and we are committed to helping ordinary people fly into space. If you..."

"I agree!"

"...Huh?" Lin Xu was stunned. He agreed? Just like that? He had assumed that changing Xu Jin's mind would be a long process and that today's conversation would merely be the first step in laying the groundwork.

But now... Good grief, were these two materials really that lethal?

After hesitating for a moment, Lin Xu asked, "What about your other job? You've already passed the interview at the Materials Research Institute, right?"

"I can choose not to go."

At this moment, Xu Jin looked completely normal, and his expression calmed down in an instant. The characteristic look of an Asperger's patient—"wisdom mixed with a hint of confusion"—vanished from his face. He looked entirely like an ordinary person.

Lin Xu took a deep breath and reached out his hand. "There's no rush. We can come up with a solution that works for both sides."

"Regardless, thank you for giving me the chance." Xu Jin looked at Lin Xu conflictedly, then, after a few seconds of silence, pulled an alcohol spray from his pocket.

"Never mind, we don't have to shake hands." Lin Xu pulled his hand back. "Let's set a time, then. Leave me your contact information, and I'll come pick you up tomorrow. Before we officially start, there are some things I need to brief you on. Is that okay?"

Lin Xu looked at Xu Jin with a sincere expression. In truth, before meeting him, Lin Xu had been repeatedly thinking about how to smooth this over. Even if Xu Jin agreed to play along, making the act look real enough that the company's senior management wouldn't suspect anything wouldn't be easy.

However... since Xu Jin was a genuine Asperger's patient, a lot of things could be explained away. If there were any holes, he could just blame them on Xu Jin's condition.

"Okay," Xu Jin nodded.

Just as Lin Xu thought the situation was under control, Xu Jin suddenly said, "You have a problem."

Lin Xu froze.

"I have never told anyone what I am researching. You couldn't have heard it from my teachers or classmates."

"You must have been investigating me, but that's okay, I don't care now."

"Are you really a programmer at Tianqiong Technology? Will you really send ordinary people into space?"

"We really can." Lin Xu nodded firmly. That was a given; in less than twenty years, Tianqiong Technology would become a giant in the space tourism industry. Sending someone to space would be a piece of cake.

Xu Jin could clearly see that Lin Xu was not lying. He took a deep breath and then exhaled slowly, as if a heavy burden had been lifted.

Then, he continued, "If that's the case... can you... can you..."

"Can you send me to Mars?"