Chapter 194: Sheldon Returns to Los Angeles
Ron had made a fortune, and Mr. Valdez was fuming in Miami, but it had nothing to do with him anymore. He'd already had the drugs converted into cash, turning it into gold rings, necklaces, and other items that appeared on his female confidantes.
Max, Caroline, Fiona, Collins, Megan Fox, Paige, and even Gisele each received a beautifully crafted gold ring and examined it carefully: "I heard you gave one to all your women, so are you inviting me to join your harem?"
"Puff!" Ron spat out the water he had just swallowed like a fountain.
"That's not what I meant. This is just a testament to our friendship, and you can also think of it as an invitation to join my special operations team."
"So the friendship you're talking about is the kind we had last night?" Gisele's eyes were seductive, and her feet, wrapped in black silk stockings, had unknowingly taken off her high heels and climbed up Ron's trouser leg.
Ron had to stand at attention to show his respect: "I mean the normal way, and I also invite you to join my team."
"I think it would be very helpful if my team had someone who could transform into a powerhouse and tear the enemy to pieces at a critical moment," Ron said with enthusiasm: "Whoa! Don't be like this, Gisele, I have something to do later. My brother is coming back from the Arctic today."
"Did I accidentally use too much pressure? Sorry." Gisele chuckled and took off her other high heel: "How about I try a gentler approach?"
"Woman, you are playing with fire." Ron said a classic line from a romance novel, and directly pounced on Gisele like a hungry wolf, sweeping her off her feet.
"I remember you just said you had something to do. Why don't you go handle that first? When you're free, we can continue this conversation."
"I'm free now." Ron's eyes were burning with intensity.
"Your brother just came back from the Arctic."
"So he can warm up in the apartment by himself."
...
In Pasadena, a bearded man carrying a lot of luggage rushed into the apartment. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be the four scientists led by Sheldon.
"Thank God we're finally home. It's unbelievable that we stayed in that freezing wasteland for three months."
"It was a nightmare. There was snow everywhere in my dreams and I couldn't wake up."
Sheldon expressed his dissatisfaction with the unfair evaluation of the team members: "I don't know what you guys think of the Arctic expedition. I just feel that it wasn't long enough."
Sheldon's cell phone rang: "Oh, it's Mom."
Sheldon pressed the answer button: "Mom, you will never imagine how successful our trip to the Arctic was. Maybe I can win a Nobel Prize in the future."
"Actually, I shouldn't say 'maybe.' I'm absolutely certain I can get one. I'm just being habitually modest. It's what every great person should do."
Ms. Mary said with relief: "Oh, thank God, my church group's prayers for you were effective. There is a divine hand that has been protecting you all along, Sheldon."
"No, I didn't feel your church group praying for me at all. Even if I returned home safely, it doesn't prove that the prayers were effective. This logic is completely flawed!"
"Sheldon, you are not allowed to talk back to me with that attitude!" Mary scolded.
"I wasn't talking back to you with any attitude, Mom..."
Sheldon was still talking to his mother on the phone, but Leonard had already knocked on his neighbor Penny's door: "Hi, I came here to say..."
He was greeted by Penny's surprise kiss: "You're finally back, Leonard."
"I was about to say... forget it, it doesn't matter." Leonard kissed her again, swept Penny into his arms, and closed the door with his foot.
Howard and Rajesh were left standing at the door, stunned.
"Damn! I should have gone and said hello first," Howard lamented.
"Oh my god, you really think this is first come, first served?" Ron climbed the stairs, receiving warm greetings from the two geeks.
"Ron!"
"Welcome back to Los Angeles, and thank you for not chopping my brother into pieces and leaving him in the Arctic," Ron asked suspiciously. "Wait! That guy in the room is my brother, right? Not some lab-created clone, version 2.0?"
Ron had, of course, just returned from Gisele's place. While Gisele was incredibly talented, Ron wasn't far behind. After a thorough discussion on physical techniques, Ron emerged victorious and got her to promise to join his team the next day.
Ron's special operations team had finally grown to six members. Excluding the unreliable Andy, the remaining five each had their own strengths.
A formidable team was growing under Ron's leadership.
"Ron, you know we're all physicists, and cloning is biology. The most we could do is open a dimensional portal and summon the Sheldon from another dimension to replace the one we killed."
Howard expertly high-fived Ron.
"Would this Sheldon from another dimension be more normal? At least he wouldn't have regular bowel movements every day and keep a diary recording their shapes and consistency."
Rajesh shook his head, "Impossible."
"Never mind. I'd rather have the original one." Ron shrugged and walked into the apartment, giving Sheldon a big hug despite his protests.
Sheldon broke free from Ron's embrace and said to the other two bearded geeks, "I won't forget your contributions when I publish our findings."
"Great, thank you." They said this, but neither of them showed any genuine gratitude.
"However, due to space limitations, I cannot mention you in my Nobel Prize acceptance speech. However, I will mention you in the footnotes when I write my autobiography, or give you a signed copy of my memoir."
Ron was finally sure that his dear and selfish brother Sheldon had not been replaced by these scientists. He still had the familiar personality and the familiar ego.
"We have to tell him!" Rajesh growled at Howard when Sheldon turned around.
"Tell me what?" Sheldon turned his head.
Ron keenly noticed that there seemed to be drama about to unfold, so he immediately took out the remaining half bag of popcorn from the refrigerator and found the most comfortable viewing position on the sofa.
"You guys are going to throw me a welcome home party, right?"
The two pushed each other, and finally, Howard was pushed forward: "Sheldon, sit down first."
"Let me make it clear in advance that if you want to have a theme party, I don't like Hawaiian or Roman styles."
Howard looked embarrassed: "Okay, I'll keep that in mind. We want to talk to you about some things that happened in the Arctic."
If you enjoyed this chapter, leave a Power Stone or Review!
P@atreon/Soulforger (80+ advanced chapters)
Buy me coffee - ko-fi*com/soulforger01