Chapter 28: Was the Officer’s Name Su Yi All Along?

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After slurping down his noodles, Su Yi found that it was still early—only five-thirty in the morning.

Chewing on his chopsticks, he took his phone from his pocket and, as usual, began checking on national affairs. Although he was merely an ordinary high school student on Blue Star—and an ordinary high school student under surveillance at that—he could not afford to let his political awareness decline.

Strict self-discipline was essential. If nuclear war ever broke out without warning, or some massive conflict erupted, he would at least be able to prepare in advance.

He also wanted to see whether any other country had experienced an explosion like the one in Los Angeles, whether it had been reported, and how far the collision between the Wasteland and Blue Star had reached.

In truth, Su Yi wished from the bottom of his heart that the danger caused by the awakening of supernatural abilities would spread further, affecting all of Daxia—or even the entire planet. Once the authorities officially acknowledged the situation, he would be able to reveal a little of his strength without being treated as a monster and forced to hide every day.

Of course, judging from the current circumstances, that was completely impossible.

“Hm? Why are there so many messages?”

The moment he opened his phone, Su Yi noticed the rare sight of a red notification dot marked ninety-nine on his messaging app.

He tapped it open.

Every message was from Mu Xiaowei.

“Are you feeling any better?”

“Does it still hurt?”

“If you’re uncomfortable, go see a doctor. I can accompany you to the hospital.”

“Su Yi, why aren’t you answering? Are you too tired and already asleep?”

“The medicine the doctor prescribed for me—I wanted to give it to you, but I somehow lost it...”

...

The final message had been sent at eight-thirty. None of the messages repeated themselves, and Su Yi felt a little embarrassed as he read them.

He tapped twice on the keyboard and replied, “I’m fine. I fell asleep last night. Don’t worry about the medicine—you lost it, so you lost it. I don’t need it.”

Several minutes passed.

Mu Xiaowei did not reply.

She probably had not gotten up yet.

Su Yi put down his phone and picked up his chopsticks, intending to continue eating his noodles. But after only a few more mouthfuls, he suddenly sensed that something was wrong.

Extremely sensitive to his surroundings, he soon noticed the faint change in the weight of his coat. His expression turned grave as he lowered the chopsticks in his hand.

“Commander, what’s wrong?” Lolish sensed the change in the atmosphere as well. She stopped what she was doing and tilted her head toward him.

“There’s something in my pocket.”

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He reached into his coat and searched around.

A moment later, he pulled out a small dark-brown bottle of Yunnan Baiyao.

“Hmm...” Su Yi searched his memory.

Was this the medicine the doctor had given him?

He had clearly never taken it. How had it appeared on his person?

Su Yi was secretly alarmed. When he had returned the previous day, he absolutely had not brought it with him. It was even less likely that someone could have approached him without making a sound and slipped something this large into his pocket without being noticed.

Unless the other person had used some kind of spatial ability to send it over.

No wonder someone as meticulous as Mu Xiaowei had lost it. In that case, it was hardly surprising.

Could that girl have awakened an ability? That would be too much of a coincidence...

Spatial abilities were extraordinarily rare. There were only a few even in the Wasteland, and at the current level of radiation, the chances of awakening one in such a short time were vanishingly small—unless it was driven by an exceptionally powerful conviction.

It was possible, but Su Yi did not believe that a high school student could control such an ability.

Thinking more deeply, he considered the matter from the perspective of strategic security.

At present, the only person nearby who might possess supernatural abilities was the old man downstairs.

Damn it. This settled the matter. That old man had been observing him all along, deliberately issuing a warning. Otherwise, the timing could not have been so precise.

It was an extremely provocative warning.

Su Yi’s fists tightened.

He had always followed one principle:

Convince people with reason. Make them submit with force.

Either do nothing—or finish the job completely.

If he endured again and again, only to be driven into a corner where he had no choice but to act, Su Yi would show no mercy.

“Commander? Are you still troubled by the information you obtained?”

Seeing his expression grow increasingly solemn, Lolish lifted the bowl of instant noodles, now completely empty, and looked up at him.

“Something like that... For the next few days, I’m going to give you intensive training. I’ll do my best to make you seem more normal, so no one can easily detect anything suspicious.”

Su Yi folded his arms and pointed at Lolish, his expression utterly serious.

He was fighting for the chance to live a normal life. As a Rank Two commander who guided those who bore the sword, he now had to shoulder his responsibility. No matter how harsh the outside world became, he would make sure there were no flaws to exploit.

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“Normal?”

For a moment, Lolish’s mind drifted back to the Wasteland, where she had learned all kinds of combat techniques and assassination methods. Their instructor had seemed to say something similar back then: they were being trained to become “normal soldiers.”

She still remembered everything she had learned, and all of it had proved extremely useful—such as which posture allowed one to snap a person’s neck most quickly, how to deal with three heartless attackers, and how to dispose of and bury a corpse...

It seemed that the commander intended to train her again.

Yet Lolish still remembered the suffering she had endured during that training. Fewer than one in ten of those who entered the selection process had qualified as soldiers. But she was not afraid of hardship, nor was she afraid of strict discipline. As long as she could become useful, that was enough.

“Lolish will become normal! Commander, I’m ready.”

“Good. First rule: when we’re outside, don’t call me Commander anymore... Unless we’re alone. When other people are present, call me Su Yi.”

“Su Yi?” A glimmer flashed through Lolish’s eyes. She shifted her stool closer and leaned toward him, blinking as she asked, “Is that the commander’s name?”

“...”

It was no wonder Lolish called him Commander at every opportunity. Aside from showing respect, Su Yi had never actually introduced himself. They had already been living together for several days, yet the girl had learned his name only today. The realization was somewhat awkward.

Still, Su Yi felt guilty for only 0.05 seconds.

“From now on, just call me by my name when we’re outside. Don’t worry about whether it’s disrespectful or not. We don’t have so many pointless rules. You should have asked for my name sooner.”

According to the customs of the Wasteland, a commander could never be wrong. If there was a mistake, it was because those beneath him had failed to understand.

All right, in reality, he had learned that from certain anti-corruption and political dramas on Blue Star.

“I’m sorry, Commander. I was wrong...”

Lolish’s long, brush-like eyelashes trembled faintly. She rested her hands on the table, lowered her head, and apologized with utmost sincerity.

That only made Su Yi feel more embarrassed.

“Ahem. All right, let’s move on. Over the next couple of days, I’ll focus on teaching you how to read. We’ll start with phonetic spelling, then go through the Great Chinese Dictionary.”

“Once you’ve learned that, I can buy you a phone, and you’ll be able to learn about Blue Star online.”

Education was important. The internet contained knowledge about nearly everything, making it extremely convenient to study. Of course, he would not simply leave her to her own devices.

If he let Lolish browse freely and she happened to watch some stand-up comedy, picked up misogynistic insults, or absorbed some absurd rhetoric that pitted men and women against each other, she could be thoroughly ruined.

“So Blue Star’s knowledge is learned more quickly only after you’re put under arrest...”

Hearing the words “go online,” Lolish began speculating silently.

The various kinds of knowledge on Blue Star were truly strange—even the methods of learning were so peculiar.

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