[The Hobbit] Only the earthlings don't know

02

Bilbo Baggins is a graduate student in Secular Studies.

But he is not the kind of scholar that most people think of sitting in the university library and constantly looking through materials or collecting materials for thesis in places where you can't even buy cigarettes. He is just a part-time guy, The academic level is only half-baked, but it is very popular with the tutor.

His mentor Gandalf believes that he is a person who is full of curiosity about people and society, which is very beneficial and necessary for the study of folklore.

But in fact, for Bilbo, studying folklore is just his hobby, but his life happens to allow him to live this hobby as half of his life—his parents have passed away, and they left him A house and a lot of property, although not enough to make him a rich man, are enough to make him live comfortably for the next 30 or even 50 years.

Originally, Bilbo didn't even have to go to this job that didn't make much money, but he always said that he was a conservative person, which was actually true. Conservative people don't like the feeling of sitting on the mountain, and he doesn't like it either.

However, in order to maintain his hobbies, Bilbo found a hardware store to work as a clerk. He only needed to take care of some records and counting work every day. He didn't have to entertain guests.He works seven days a week, from [-]:[-] am to [-]:[-] pm, with one day in between. The salary is just enough to cover his living expenses, and occasionally he can buy some books with a small bonus.

There are two clerks like him in this store who come to work alternately, so sometimes when he is going to participate in a graduate school discussion group or listen to some lectures, he will change shifts with another colleague named Frodo.He was a very nice person with beautiful curly hair and blue eyes. He looked much younger than his actual age and had a gentle temper. He was from the same town as Bilbo, and he was somewhat related to him, probably his nephew or nephew. What, although the two are not a few years apart.

Yesterday, in order to participate in the discussion group guided by Gandalf, Bilbo and Frodo switched shifts again, which caused him to work two consecutive shifts, but fortunately, the work was not tiring, so it didn't bother him too much.After punching his card and sorting out his day's work, Bilbo turned and walked into the office to get some coffee first.

Such a comfortable single life has lasted for three years, and Bilbo even felt that nothing would change if he didn't meet a woman who didn't have to be beautiful but must be gentle and understanding.

"Last night again?" Seeing his tired face, the colleague reached out and patted him on the shoulder and asked.

"Three in the morning." Bilbo smiled. "There's a nice book..."

After chatting casually, Bilbo quickly finished the work in hand, then sat near the window of the office building, opened his laptop, and prepared to write something.

Before that, he took a look at Hotmail.

Gandalf left him a message saying that he raised the question about racial segregation and social and cultural differences in the discussion group yesterday. After consideration, he hoped to introduce some people to him.Although they are not professional personnel, they may be able to add some inspiration to Bilbo's new paper.

"Of course, not just looking for inspiration." Gandalf wrote in the message, "As I know what a kind and loyal friend you are, I also think they will make excellent best friends. Hope you can chat Come." At the same time, he also left a string of addresses in the final note, which should be one of the rooms on an Internet chat room website.

Bilbo wrote back to Gandalf, thanking him for taking this matter so seriously, and then clicked on the address of the chat room to register a new ID.This chat site requires real names to prevent it from becoming a communication tool for criminals, but Bilbo doesn't care much about using his real name. He is neither a celebrity nor prepared to do anything illegal.

He just wanted to write a thesis.

After sending out the invitation to join the chat room, Bilbo quit the site, took some time to write a lot, had lunch, and made a cup of black tea after a short walk.

Coffee in the morning and black tea in the afternoon is a common practice.

The store where Bilbo works is on the first floor, but the office is on the eighth floor of the office building. Other colleagues are busy in the store, which gives him a perfect personal space.

Opening the website again, he found that the administrator of the chat room called "Let's Dominate the Galaxy" had agreed to his application.

This chat room has many other weird functions, such as online hang-up to collect experience points to upgrade, do quests to earn gold coins to buy tricky props, etc., but those Bilbo obviously don't use it.He clicked on the chat interface, tapped the keyboard quickly, and left a sentence in the dialog box: Hello, I'm Bilbo.

Bilbo is actually a slow guy, but thanks to the millions of words he typed every year, he can type very fast.

Although this time should be when everyone is still at work or in class, someone in the chat room replied to him soon.

[Bard]: Good afternoon, Bilbo, I am the owner of this room, you can call me Bard directly.Welcome to "Let's Dominate the Galaxy", Gandalf mentioned you to us - his name is also in the list of chat room members, although he does not seem to be online - but we have begged every hope to introduce new blood into Members don't want to say too much about our topic to newcomers, so I think it is necessary to make a brief introduction.

[Bard]: This is a free chat room, but our room is a private room, only those who have a password or a direct address can enter. For some special reasons, we hope to ask for the consent of all roommates before inviting new people.Although it is a bit strict in this regard, please rest assured that everyone is a very kind person, and the relationship is also very good. I hope to get along with you happily.

Bilbo read the long paragraphs that appeared on the screen, and typed a short OK on the keyboard.

[Bard]: Besides me, there are three administrators in our chat room, Mrs. Galadriel, Aragon and Fili. You will get to know them gradually.

[Bard]: Finally, the people in this chat room have special identities, and I hope that the chat content will not be spread outside.

Special status?

Bilbo froze for a moment, but as Gandalf said, he wasn't a clumsy guy in the first place, so he just typed "Okay" after being dazed.

Maybe there are some famous people in the group or something?

Not wanting to ask any more questions at all, Bilbo was really relieved when he saw the bottom right corner of the computer screen reminding him that someone else in the chat room was online.

Otherwise the atmosphere would be too embarrassing.

[Galadriel]: Good afternoon, everyone.

[Bard]: Good afternoon, Mrs. Galadriel, how is your afternoon tea today?

[Galadriel]: Great guy, I recommended this store on my blog, this is the best red velvet cake I have ever tasted.

【Bard】: It makes me want to have such a delicious meal. Mrs. Galadriel, let me introduce you. This is Bilbo, a student of Gandalf. I think you know him. Bilbo, this is Mrs. Galadriel, one of our three administrators. I regret that I cannot disclose the age of a noble lady, but I can assure you that she deserves your respect.

Bilbo was always a nice guy, at least he was always friendly.

[Bilbo]: Hello, Mrs. Galadriel.

[Galadriel]: Hello little guy.

[Bard]: There are two other administrators, you will probably see them in the evening.

Bilbo looked at the clock on the wall, lowered his head and left a line of words on the screen——

[Bilbo]: Okay, thank you for your kind guide, Bard, I have to go back to work first, maybe I will go online again in the evening, I hope I can continue to chat then.

[Bard]: Of course, happy work.

Bilbo closed the chat window, sent an email to Gandalf to thank him for his introduction and said that he has joined in, and if he has time, he will chat with these new friends more.

To be honest, even if this chat room is not helpful for his thesis, Bilbo will try to communicate with them properly.After all, his circle of friends is too narrow. He is always in the shop at two points and one line at home. No one invites him to socialize, and there are no fixed, small groups of friends to meet from time to time. In his spare time, he only writes and reads. It hardly sounds like the life of a young man in the 21st century.