In the morning, Xing Chen finished washing up but couldn't find Theresa anywhere in the apartment.
"Theresa, where are you?"
"I'm outside."
Xing Chen pushed open the door and saw Theresa feeding a cat in the corridor outside the rental house.
This tabby cat had lived in the community for a long time, and everyone nearby was familiar with it.
Xing Chen would occasionally feed it leftover braised chicken or spicy hotpot, and it would generally accept anything.
However, Theresa was holding unwashed green vegetable leaves, waving them in front of it, and the tabby cat just shuffled back and forth, showing no interest in eating at all.
"Xing Chen, do the Feline here not eat vegetables?"
Xing Chen didn't answer. She suddenly pulled her hand away, and the tabby cat, deprived of its toy, immediately transformed into its Spinosaurus form.
"Old Wu~!"
"Just like Kal'tsit." Theresa threw the vegetable leaves into the trash can and walked towards Xing Chen. "What's wrong? Is there something you need?"
"There's a meeting in two days, so we need to get our certificates quickly, otherwise you won't even be able to take the train."
"Get certificates? Do your public transportation here require a marital relationship?"
"It's an ID card." Theresa had also learned to joke online. Xing Chen pulled out the information from his mentor. "He's already inquired about everything for us. We just need to go to the police station and find the person."
"Alright," Theresa was very excited. She knew very well that identity documents were not easy to obtain anywhere. "What should I say at the police station?"
...The police station wasn't far from the rental house, so the two of them decided not to take a taxi this time and just walked there.
"Xing Chen, there are a lot of Feline here too."
"Here, we call them cats."
There were indeed many stray cats in City X, causing considerable trouble for other animals and pedestrians. The government had cleaned them up more than once, but besides teaching them to avoid human sight, there was no other effect.
Theresa's perception was many times stronger than a human's; she could easily spot the stray cats hiding in the shadows.
"I know, but what is their relationship with the Feline?"
"The influence of Originium. After all, you know how big the difference in appearance is between the Sarkaz from thousands of years ago and the Sarkaz now."
Theresa nodded, apparently agreeing with Xing Chen's statement.
"Then which race do you like the most, Feline, Lupo, or Cattus?"
"Hmm..." Xing Chen wanted to say he liked them all, but his brain suddenly trembled. "I like humans..."
"Oh, humans..." Theresa had a smile on her face, but Xing Chen still detected a hint of disappointment.
"I didn't say where the humans were from," his expression suddenly became serious. "On Earth, only Homo sapiens can be called human, but on Terra, who do you think can be called human?"
"That's too many..." Theresa closed her mouth. She seemed to understand what Xing Chen meant. "Are you trying to say that on Terra, only we Sarkaz can be called human?"
The Sarkaz were the indigenous people, and they had already evolved into intelligent life before the first animal friends from Tau-2 came to Terra through the Star Gate.
"If Originium completely disappeared and everything returned to its origin, your race would be the only intelligent species on Terra."
"But now we have all transformed into human appearances under the influence of Originium. This cannot be changed, can it?"
Theresa's vision had long surpassed her own race, and she couldn't quite accept Xing Chen's view. If she were asked to call a Camel a human, she might not agree, but she would definitely agree with Kuranta and Feline.
This was unacceptable to Xing Chen. He could accept a saintess, but a 'holy mother' was out of the question, truly impossible.
His bottom line was prioritizing the interests of his own race.
"Originium may not be unable to assimilate time."
Time is also information, and it might also enter the Internalized Universe. So, if there were an observer outside of time, what would Originium look like in his eyes?
"Don't say anymore, even I think my actions back then were a bit foolish." Theresa immediately thought of someone, but unfortunately, this person had already been killed by her.
"Don't be discouraged, at least the hardware is still there," Xing Chen comforted. "I hope that after he communicates with Prythian, he can come up with a solution to the problem. Moreover, I also want to know what exactly happened to me."
"But will Prythian really forgive me?"
"I don't know, but I can be sure that if I let your plan proceed, Rhodes Island would only have a chance to discuss this after defeating Prythian."
The two chatted for a while, and then they arrived at the police station.
Upon entering, Xing Chen went straight to the service desk to inquire about someone with the officer on duty.
"Oh, he's over there." The officer pointed to the office area on the other side. "The spot with the most people is him."
The wait in line wasn't long, and soon it was Xing Chen and Theresa's turn at the end of the line.
"You're my uncle's student?"
"Yes, I'm here to accompany my girlfriend to get an ID card."
"Household registration book, hand it over."
"Oh, alright, here's mine."
The clerk took Xing Chen's household registration book, his eyes fixed on Theresa.
"She doesn't have one."
"No household registration book, yet you come to get an ID card."
"My mentor should have told you about my situation, right?"
"I know, but these are the regulations. You're a graduate student, you should understand."
Having no other choice, Xing Chen had to pull out the script he had prepared earlier.
A girl from a remote mountain village, whose parents died of an incurable disease after she was born. She grew up depending on her older brother, and because they couldn't afford the fine for having an extra child, she was unregistered for many years. Later, she fell out with her brother, taught herself some skills, and left in a huff to make a living alone in the big city.
Because they had rehearsed beforehand, their stories matched up. The only question was whether anyone would believe this story full of loopholes.
"So, that means, young lady, you must be at least 30-40 years old, right?" an old police officer said. "You look quite young. Young man, you're quite something."
Xing Chen was a bit embarrassed, but Theresa didn't care at all.
"Alright, I'll process it for you. Name."
"Theresa."
The clerk raised an eyebrow, then asked, "Age."
"35."
"Place of origin."
"Kazdel."
The clerk looked up and couldn't help but say, "Are you serious?"
Theresa nodded, and Xing Chen also indicated that her information had problems, but his own information was absolutely authentic, and he wasn't afraid of not being found if something happened.
After filling in the remaining information, a female clerk led Theresa to take a photo. After everything was done, Theresa finally received her ID card.
"I'm telling you, you absolutely must not do anything illegal or disorderly."
"Don't worry."