(Yi Zen): I'll make the arrangements, but you will have to meet up with me.

Bing Shi didn't hesitate to respond but with one condition.

(Bing Shi): Sure, but you have to gain my trust first.

(Yi Zen): I understand. Trust goes both ways. What would it take for you to trust me?

'Won't a pop-up message appear when I gain his trust?' Bing Shi didn't miss a beat as she responded.

(Bing Shi): Not much. Just trust me like a wealthy investor trusts a solid stock, and I will make sure your investment in me will only increase in value.

(Yi Zen): Fine. But you have to follow our rules and guidelines. We can't have any rogue members compromising our mission. How can I trust someone who hides her identity behind a mask?

Yi Zen couldn't discern if Bing Shi was the type to be easily won over or if she required more effort to gain her trust. 

(Bing Shi): It's for my safety. Also, everyone hides behind a mask. Are you saying you don't have one? You 👽. I don't trust 👽👽.

Yi Zen dismissed the meeting and walked to his office. He couldn't help but feel a tinge of annoyance toward Bing Shi. He understood the need for caution and anonymity, but this whole charade seemed like a circus act to him. After all, the main objective was to gather information on this dangerous terrorist.

(Yi Zen): Let's start fresh. Information is key in any operation, and I need to know more about you before we proceed. Can you provide me with some background on yourself?

(Bing Shi): Well, where should I begin? I value my privacy above all else. What about you? Are you an alien? 👽Because the way you ate that lemon was like nothing I've ever seen before. It was otherworldly.🍋👽

Yi Zen furrowed his brow in annoyance. Who did Bing Shi think she was to make a joke at his expense? He was a highly respected leader, not some clown to be mocked.

He quickly pushed aside his irritation, reminding himself that building trust required patience and understanding.

(Yi Zen): I'm not an alien, but if I were, I'd have better things to do than asking people to eat lemons.

Yi Zen waited for Bing Shi's response, but none came. He sighed and wondered if he had said the wrong thing. Perhaps he should have tried to be more charming or humorous. But as a military man, he wasn't exactly known for his wit or charm. 

═══════⊱༻❈༺⊰═══════

APOCALYPSE COUNTDOWN:

150 days left

If you want to live, go to this website:

www. bingshi.com

═══════⊱༻❈༺⊰═══════

Yi Zen engaged in daily conversations with what he considered a foolish creature. Had it not displayed any particular abilities, he would have already assigned it a spot in a mental institution. However, as someone in need of gaining its trust, he played along with its nonsensical ramblings.

(Yi Zen): How can someone like you have a boyfriend?

Bing Shi): How can someone like you not have a girlfriend? 👽 👽

(Yi Zen): I asked first.

(Bing Shi): I was lucky to find one. You? 👽

(Yi Zen): Not interested in women.

(Bing Shi): What about men? 👽

(Yi Zen): Neither.

(Bing Shi): I knew it. You are an 👽. Like me.

Yi Zen's stoic expression faltered for a moment, his face cracking with annoyance.

(Yi Zen): I'm not an alien. Stop with those ridiculous emoticons.

(Bing Shi): I'm just reminding you that there is going to be an apocalypse with them. 👽

(Yi Zen): Don't make me laugh. If humanity was in the brim of extinction, how could you appear?

(Bing Shi): I'm not from the future, I'm an 👽. A peaceful one.

Did she mean there were others like her among people? Yi Zen's brain was about to explode from Bing Shi. Was she from this planet or not?

Everything she said made so much sense. But at the same time, it was so absurd that he didn't know if she was joking or not. One time she spoke how pink the sky was, and he was about to shrug her off when she sent him a picture of a sunset.

(Yi Zen): Are you kidding me?

(Bing Shi):  I'd prefer not to answer. I don't want to die under your hands, alien 👽

Yi Zen tried to maintain his composure. Didn't she show her hands in videos? They looked the belonged to a human. But what if...

(Yi Zen): How many? Are you like the ones from your apocalypse?

Bing Shi): About four hundred million. A bit?

'I'm more pretty.'

Yi Zen's face darkened. Did she mean that right now, there were millions of them among the people? No matter how ridiculous it sounded, if something like that happened, it would cause an apocalypse.

(Yi Zen): Are they going to appear at the same time?

(Bing Shi): Yeah.

It really sounded like Bing Shi wanted to save the planet, he thought.

(Yi Zen): Is that why you didn't want to tell others?

(Bing Shi): Correct. If we meet, can I kill you in self-defense?👽

What's with all these random questions, he thought.

(Yi Zen): You can and stop with those emoticons.

Bing Shi listened to him. She didn't send green faces anymore because.... she didn't even respond to his messages.

When Bing Shi didn't respond for days but continued to upload her videos, he wrote a message.

(Yi Zen): Continue using them.

(Bing Shi): Did you miss my alien👽 ?

Yi Zen ignored her antics.

(Yi Zen): Can you recognize them?

(Bing Shi): You didn't answer me. 👽

(Yi Zen): I did.

(Bing Shi): You didn't. 👽

Was she making fun of him again?! Of course, he didn't miss them, but he had to gain her trust, so he wrote the whole sentence.

(Yi Zen): I did miss 👽

(Bing Shi): I can't recognize them, if I could, you'd have all their names already. Pretend you know nothing. It would be unfortunate if it got leaked. If you want to protect somebody, isolate them for a day. Do you have someone? Except me, of course. 👽

(Yi Zen): My family.

(Bing Shi): Oh, let's discuss it tomorrow. Bye-Bye 👽

Yi Zen clutched his phone with a blank expression, but inside, he was annoyed to no ends. Their conversation would last 15 minutes at most. When he asked the reason, she would say she didn't want to put a green hat on her boyfriend. (Putting a green heat on somebody = cheating on them.)

What was wrong with her priorities?! Was her boyfriend more important than anything else? She was able to make Yi Zen believe that an apocalypse was going to happen. The idea that Bing Shi had everything under her control was upsetting him.

· · ───────── · ⊱❈⊰· ───────── · ·

To avoid making Yi Zen fall in love with her, Bing Shi wanted to make him believe that she was another species, spamming him with creepy alien faces until he thought that she looked like that under the mask.

When another handsome man eating a lemon appeared on her phone, she switched to another video.

'Why did Xuan Mu have to die?'

'How do I find him?'

'I can't recognize his soul.'

'I don't even know if he is here.'

'How do I survive another four years?'

Closing the messenger app, she put on her headphones and listened to Xuan Mu's voice.

° "Bing Shi, why are you recording me?" he asked, raising an eyebrow in confusion at the phone she put in front of him.

° "What if you become mute someday?"

° Bing Shi held up a card that said "Bing Shi, I love our monkeys," Xuan Mu's expression softened as he read it, understanding her fear of losing her ability to communicate with him.

° The monkeys in her head were one of her endearing qualities, but he knew they could also be exhausting for her. He silently hoped that she would find some peace of mind one day.

° "They are yours. I don't want them." Bing Shi raised index cards for Xuan Mu to read, each with a different question or statement. 

° Then, she held up the card that said "Bing Shi, come sit at my lap," Xuan Mu shifted in his seat and patted his lap, inviting her to come and sit with him. Bing Shi complied, snuggling up against him as he spoke softly into her ear, his voice soothing and gentle, " Good girl. Do you like it when I speak like this?"

Bing Shi nodded as she imagined his hands caressing her hair.

° "Bing Shi, I love you with all your faults, understood?"

Bing Shi nodded.

° "Bing Shi, were you a good girl today?"

Bing Shi nodded.

° "Bing Shi, no matter what happens to us, we will always love each other. You're the one for me, and I'm the one for you. Now and always."

Bing Shi nodded with teary eyes. His voice calling out her name made her heart tingle in joyous pain, "Xuan Mu, what if I fail my mission?"

° "Bing Shi, promise me one thing." Xuan Mu's voice cracked a bit as he spoke, no longer reading from her cards, "Promise me that you'll never give up on yourself. No matter how hard things get, you'll keep fighting. You'll keep pushing forward."