Chapter 145 Moderate, a Little

Gao Yuan and Xiang Weiguo hurriedly disembarked from the high-speed train. This time, Xu Manzhi did not come; only the two of them arrived at Base 10.

However, Gao Yuan was followed by four soldiers. Song Qian did indeed provide him with personal protection. At least until now, Song Qian had never left his side.

There was a colonel waiting beside the high-speed train, next to him was an electric cart.

Gao Yuan wasn't sure if he should salute, and the waiting colonel wasn't sure either. Eventually, they found common ground: the colonel saluted Xiang Weiguo, and Xiang Weiguo returned the salute.

"I am Ma Wenguang, the head of logistics at Base 10. I am responsible for Xinghe... Comrade's daily needs. We have specialized personnel serving Xinghe Comrade around the clock, all professionals from the state guesthouse with extensive experience. In theory, there should be no problem with their service attitude or professionalism. But..."

Ma Wenguang seemed to struggle to find the right words, hesitated, and then with a pained expression said, "Comrade Xinghe slept for only about one hour before getting up, then he seemed very anxious, asking twelve times where Gao Yuan was, just this one question. The service staff tried to communicate with Comrade Xinghe, but he barely spoke, and he looked very anxious. I didn't know what to do, so I called Commander Xu Manzhi to find you. This matter... we really need Comrade Xiao Gao to step in."

Gao Yuan frowned and said, "Not sleeping? Very anxious?"

"Yes, Comrade Xinghe's matters are all very important. I didn't dare to disturb the other commanders since they had just rested. Comrade Gao Yuan, please understand, now we can only trouble you to take a look at what's going on with Comrade Xinghe and see if there are any needs, okay?"

"Mm-hmm, of course, of course."

Gao Yuan felt it was somewhat strange because he now seemed to have become a conduit for Xinghe, but if that was his role, so be it. Others might not even get the chance to do so.

After boarding the electric cart, Gao Yuan and his companions were quickly taken to Xinghe's residence.

Xinghe's place was much better than where Luo Guodong had stayed, mainly because it was much safer. To get to Xinghe's place, one had to pass through at least four checkpoints, and also go through a dedicated tunnel before entering a separate underground space.

Seeing Gao Yuan and Ma Wenguang hurrying over, the service staff at the door directly opened the room door without knocking.

When Gao Yuan saw Xinghe, the latter was standing in front of his mecha, silently observing it, seemingly lost in thought.

"Xinghe."

Upon seeing Gao Yuan, Xinghe's face immediately lit up with a smile.

"You're here, it's been a while."

Ma Wenguang also followed them inside, but he did not speak because Xinghe did not seem inclined to talk to him, so Ma Wenguang gave Gao Yuan a look.

Gao Yuan walked up to Xinghe and said, "What's wrong? Why aren't you sleeping?"

"I can't sleep. I'm very anxious, very restless. It's these kinds of mental activities that keep me from resting peacefully."

Gao Yuan realized the situation was serious, so he quickly asked, "Why? Why are you feeling anxious?"

Xinghe turned around, and with a serious expression said, "My mecha's energy is about to run out. I need to use the mecha to display the stored data, otherwise, I cannot communicate well with the Earthlings. Thus, the mecha is an extremely important communication tool."

This was indeed a serious matter. Gao Yuan and Ma Wenguang instantly became serious.

"You're worried about the energy issue?"

Xinghe confirmed seriously, "Yes, I must conserve energy usage, so I shouldn't use the mecha for purposes other than communication assistance. But I have important matters that need to be recorded, what should I do?"

"Wait, if the mecha runs out of power, uh, loses its energy supply, can't you use another way to tell us what you know? Even verbal transmission is fine."

Xinghe shook his head and said, "How could my brain possibly hold that much knowledge? My mecha is like your computers. I definitely need to use a computer to transfer the data to you. As for myself, I am an explorer, not a scientist; how could I possibly know everything."

Gao Yuan took a deep breath and said, "This is troublesome, what should we do?"

"Yeah, what should I do? According to my estimates, the exchange work can be completed, given we don't waste energy. But I need to record things, what should I do?"

Gao Yuan finally pinpointed the crux of the problem.

"What do you want to record? We have recording and video equipment, you know. You can totally use our gear to do your recordings. The key question is, what is it you want to record?"

Xinghe responded without hesitation, "Well, food."

"Food?"

Gao Yuan and Ma Wenguang both looked somewhat dumbfounded, while Xinghe continued very seriously, "Yes, food. I must know what the food is, how it is processed, and I need to know the nutritional content and effects of this food as well as whether there are any adverse consequences. I think, as an emissary for the exchange between two civilizations, I should take Earth's advanced culinary culture back with me."

Gao Yuan and Ma Wenguang exchanged glances, and then Xinghe, with a helpless expression, said, "It's truly hard to make a choice. I have no available energy to keep the mecha running, but I must record so much important content."

"Cough, cough."

Gao Yuan coughed lightly twice before turning to Ma Wenguang, "Director Ma, please bring a piece of paper and a pen. Oh, and bring a camera. Oh, never mind, a smartphone will do."

Ma Wenguang nodded silently in response, murmuring, "Just a moment."

As Ma Wenguang was about to step out, he felt immensely relieved that he had not reported Xinghe's odd behavior to the authorities.

Truly a stroke of luck.

But just as Ma Wenguang was about to walk out of the room, he suddenly stopped. Turning to Gao Yuan, he said, "Oh, right, we have an entertainment system here. There's a TV and a computer. Uh, our main system has a lot of movies stored, and... documentaries, like 'A Bite of Shenzhou.' Turn on the TV and find the documentary channel, you can use voice search with the remote control. I think you might want to have a look."

Gao Yuan sincerely admired Ma Wenguang's swift response and quick thinking.

Thumbs up, Gao Yuan said with a look of admiration, "Director Ma, that's brilliant! Impressive, I respect that!"

Ma Wenguang smiled and nodded slightly, "You're too kind. I just watch movies and such in my spare time, so it occurred to me. It's all on you now, Comrade Gao Yuan."

After Ma Wenguang left, Gao Yuan immediately turned on the TV, picked up the remote control and said to Xinghe, "Stop worrying about recording it yourself, we have everything ready for you to watch."

"Really? Then let's watch."

Accompanied by the familiar melody, 'A Bite of Shenzhou' started playing. Xinghe was curious at first, but he quickly became completely engrossed in the TV.

After a while, Xinghe suddenly asked, "Question, what is soy sauce?"

"It's a kind of seasoning..."

"Then what is the appropriate amount of soy sauce? What's the unit of measurement?"

"Er..."

"A pinch of salt, how much should that be?"

"Well..."

"A pinch of green onion, how much is a pinch?"

"..."