The bright midday sunlight spilled from the sky, feeling warm and cozy. Yet Lin Qiansheng could not feel any warmth; his whole body, especially his back, felt ice-cold.
Lin Qiansheng stopped walking, the usual gentle look on his face completely gone. He suddenly curled the corners of his mouth, but his smile did not hold the slightest bit of emotion.
The moment he walked out of the park, a cold, resentful, and murderous gaze wrapped tightly around him like clinging bone-eating insects, following him all the way here.
“Do you hate me that much?”
If it were not on a broad daylight street, Lin Qiansheng figured the person following him would have already made a move.
The person following him this time was no longer from Lu Xingcheng’s side. He did not sense any familiar aura from this person, and he was basically certain he did not know them.
It was just that… The young man lowered his eyes to glance behind him. Only his own shadow was on the road surface, showing nothing unusual.
If his guess was not wrong, the person following him this time had psychic power at least at the B-rank, and possibly even touching A-rank.
Psychic power close to A-rank was absolute top-tier excellence even across the entire Empire.
When had he offended someone like that?
Lin Qiansheng thought seriously for a few minutes, but could not dig up any relevant memories from his mind.
Although he did not know where he had offended such a person, he could be certain that offending someone like that would not be a good thing.
And he always hated trouble.
The young man’s gaze grew increasingly cold, like a block of ice. Suddenly, as if sensing something, he snapped his head up to stare in a certain direction.
Slowly, the young man sighed helplessly, the coldness in his eyes gradually dissipating, and the lines on his face softening.
“Forget it, forget it. Still a bit too close; I mustn’t be discovered.” Muttering softly to himself, Lin Qiansheng fished out a piece of candy, popped it into his mouth, and quickly blended into the crowd, disappearing into the middle of the street.
About half an hour later, an exquisite-looking girl walked out from the shadows at the entrance of the small park. The girl possessed an elegant demeanor and wore a form-fitting long dress that outlined her slender curves to perfection. However, at this moment, she was clenching her fists so tightly that her nails dug deep into her palms, her eyes laced with poison, revealing a fierce and ruthless intent.
The girl was none other than Wang Yao.
Wang Yao stared fixedly at the direction where Lin Qiansheng had last disappeared. She lifted her chin, her neck long and slender, fully displaying her arrogant posture. Yet in the next second, her expression twisted, and she suddenly kicked out at the wall beside her.
With such immense force, after a “crack” sound, cracks appeared centered right on the spot where the girl’s toe had struck, and the cracks continuously spread outward, quickly covering nearly half the wall!
Psychic Power: A.
Physical Fitness: A!
Not only her psychic power, but even her physical fitness was second only to the highest S-rank! Even without looking at her family background and status, Wang Yao truly possessed the capital for arrogance.
Although the interstellar era was currently in a temporary period of peace, conflicts had not been completely eliminated and were still stirring restlessly in the dark.
The importance in military matters of mechas, which possessed absolute suppression over starships, was self-evident.
It was just that the requirements for piloting mechas were extremely high; only individuals whose psychic power and physical fitness were both at or above the B-rank could pilot them. Therefore, even those born on the poorest planets with low social status could successfully pilot mechas after training—provided their psychic power and physical fitness met the requirements—and could even change their own social class!
Setting aside mecha factors, the ranks of psychic power and physical fitness also determined a person’s potential and upper limit. The higher both were, the greater a person’s potential, which was why psychic power and physical fitness ranks were inextricably linked to social status in the Empire.
Ordinary people generally had psychic power and physical fitness at only the D-rank or E-rank, and it was hard for both to be balanced, usually tilting toward one side. Very few people even had a single attribute reach the C-rank, let alone both reaching the A-rank!
It could be said that Wang Yao had stood at the very top since birth. Her status within the family was not something Wang Xin could compare to either, and she had always lived surrounded by stars, pursued by countless people.
Faced with the family’s command—to make contact with Lu Xingcheng and ideally get him to develop favorable feelings for her—Wang Yao was naturally full of confidence, and what she wanted was far more than just favorable feelings.
Whether considering her family background, appearance, or strength, very few people in the Empire could compare to her.
Lu Xingcheng was stationed at the front lines year-round, so all they lacked was the catalyst of a meeting. She believed that as long as they could meet, the other party would definitely be attracted to her.
After so many years, it was rare to receive news that Admiral Lu Xingcheng had returned to the Empire, and he was even coming to attend their academy’s anniversary! Wang Yao had prepared early, and the family had also arranged the opportunity for the two of them to meet.
They were supposed to meet after the morning events concluded, when Admiral Lu Xingcheng stepped down from the leaders’ seating area. However, she could not wait that long and engineered a coincidence herself, bumping into Lu Xingcheng ahead of schedule. Yet after she proactively introduced herself, the man merely nodded faintly without any reaction, walked right past her, and headed to the leaders’ seat!
Wang Yao was naturally quite unwilling; she refused to believe anyone could resist her charm! She originally thought there would still be a chance to meet again, but for some reason, right as the opening ceremony ended, the Admiral was nowhere to be found?!
Angry and annoyed, Wang Yao quickly used her connections to find out that the Admiral seemed to have gone home first due to some business. So she immediately inquired through her family for the Admiral’s home address, but unfortunately, the family was not very clear about it either, knowing only that there was a hidden passageway leading to the Admiral’s residence here.
After spending most of the day, she finally rushed to this park. Yet just as she arrived inside, she happened to see the scene of the old man talking with Lin Qiansheng.
Wang Yao naturally recognized the old man—that was the Admiral’s absolute confidant!
Why would Lin Qiansheng appear here with the old man?
Perhaps due to a woman’s intuition, a strong sense of direct crisis surged into her heart. Could it be that Admiral Lu Xingcheng came home because of Lin Qiansheng??
No, that was absolutely impossible!!
These two people couldn’t possibly know each other at all!!
Although she felt it was completely impossible, still… Wang Yao stamped her feet in frustration, completely shedding her previous arrogance and elegance.
“Damn it, didn’t Zhang Hongtian reject his leave request? Why is he appearing here?!”
“Lin Qiansheng… Lin Qiansheng… That’s his name, right?” The girl’s eyes flickered, and she took a deep breath, quickly calming down.
Clearly, the Admiral had not returned from this direction, and continuing to stay here would be of no use.
“He’s just a disabled piece of trash.” She narrowed her eyes, the sense of crisis lingering persistently in her heart. She bit her lower lip slightly and whispered to herself, “No, it seems I need to go visit my useless uncle once…”
The small park was located in the central area of the Imperial Capital, with a station just a few hundred meters away. However, by the time Lin Qiansheng returned to the garbage dump, it was already noon.
“Didn’t you say you were going to school to ask for leave? Why did you come back so late?”
Just as Lin Qiansheng stepped into the small courtyard, before the fresh scent of medicinal herbs could enter his lungs, Doctor Bai—who was currently watering the plants—asked gently.
Generally speaking, at noon Doctor Bai would basically bury himself in the lab conducting experiments that Lin Qiansheng could not understand either. He had not expected the other person to happen to be in the courtyard when he returned today.
Ah, it was over.
Lin Qiansheng silently looked away. “…I ran into some unexpected trouble.”
“Unexpected trouble?” Doctor Bai pushed his round glasses frames up and carefully sized up the young man. The youth, who was usually just pale, now had an abnormal flush on his face, making it obvious at a glance that he was running a fever right now.
Doctor Bai’s expression changed drastically. He took a heavy breath, still unable to suppress his anger, and couldn’t help shouting, “It was so cold in the middle of the night yesterday, and you snuck out to the courtyard to look at the starry sky again?!!”
“Do you know the temperature dropped to the low teens last night?! Do you know how big an impact a fever has on your body? You really have no fear at all, do you!!”
“Uh…” When it came to his bodily issues, the young man felt a bit guilty too, saying weakly, “…Actually, it’s still okay right now?”
As soon as those words fell, Doctor Bai’s murder-intent-filled gaze landed fiercely on Lin Qiansheng. He rushed straight forward, grabbed the youth, and dragged him in one breath into the room with the “Laboratory” sign hanging on it.
The lighting inside the laboratory was very dim, and various oddly shaped plants sat on the innermost testing table. If a professional were here, they would find that most of these plants were highly toxic; once their leaves scratched the skin, death would ensue in just a few minutes.
Placed on the other end of the testing table was a row of reagents containing colorful liquids, and the cyan liquid inside the beaker on the heating platform was still currently being heated. Under the dim lighting, accompanied by a bubbling sound, a strange odor permeated the laboratory. Combined with the jars and cans on the cabinets containing animal limbs, it was filled with an eerie atmosphere.
Occupying the majority of the laboratory’s space was a single hospital bed right in the center, surrounded by many instruments connected to it. In addition, thick books and densely written sheets of paper were piled haphazardly on the floor, messy and chaotic to the extreme, leaving not even a place to step at first glance.
Lin Qiansheng wanted to say something, but Doctor Bai glared fiercely back and unceremoniously pushed the young man down onto the hospital bed.
“Shut up and let me check you properly!”
Facing Doctor Bai, who was still fuming in anger, Lin Qiansheng chose to be obedient.
A fluorescent blue light screen rose up, covering the entire hospital bed. Lin Qiansheng lay inside for about five minutes before the light screen gradually vanished. When he got down from the bed, Doctor Bai was sitting in front of the terminal connected to the hospital bed, repeatedly confirming that the youth showed no signs of his condition worsening, and only then let out a sigh of relief.
Seeing Doctor Bai’s expression soften, Lin Qiansheng also relaxed, completely lacking the self-awareness of someone who had fainted from an illness just this morning, and even having the mood to remark, “I told you it was fine.”
That sentence made Doctor Bai’s face turn dark with anger all over again: “You still have the nerve to say that? If someone hadn’t given you what you could call a near-perfect emergency treatment, I’m afraid we would never see each other again… nor would you have seen anyone else!”
Well, it seemed the person who helped him was probably the doctor who had conversed with the old man while he was unconscious.
Although Doctor Bai’s expression was still terrifying, Lin Qiansheng knew Doctor Bai’s anger was subsiding. He smiled slightly: “Was it near-perfect? It seems that person’s medical skills are also very strong. I wonder which of the two of you is more formidable.”
Doctor Bai glared angrily at Lin Qiansheng once more, though this time his intimidation was completely insufficient. “Yes, they’re very capable.” Hesitating for a moment, the doctor finally continued, his voice low but firm: “Still, they’re a bit worse than me.”
“Right, our Doctor Bai is the most formidable.” The silver-haired youth’s eyes held a gentle warmth, paired with the faint smile on his face, making it very easy for people to drop their guard: “With you here, I believe I’ll be fine.”
Knowing that Lin Qiansheng was merely trying to appease him, but facing a youth who put absolute trust in him like this, Doctor Bai was still angry, yet his heart had softened. The remaining anger could no longer be vented, and he completely lost his temper.
In the end, the doctor could only sigh in frustration and reply glumly: “No matter what, I’m not all-powerful… Go back to your room and rest quickly. Even though emergency treatment was done, your body temperature is still very high. I’ll brew the medicine and come up to find you in a bit.”
Having successfully pacified his doctor, the young man’s eyes curved slightly: “Okay.”
His heart had softened, but not entirely. Regarding a disobedient patient, Doctor Bai suddenly turned back around: “I’ve already made a preliminary analysis of the required components for the Blue Orchid flower that I asked Lu Jing to fetch, but to continue analyzing it, I need another kind of instrument.”
The young man’s eyelids twitched, bringing a bad feeling with them.
“The money to buy the instrument should be transferred to me via terminal within three days.”
“Of course, I know your salary won’t be paid for another half a month.” The blue light from the terminal screen shone on the harmless-looking doctor’s face: “If you don’t have the money, I can cover it for you too…”
The seemingly well-behaved doctor spoke quietly: “As punishment for disobeying medical advice, and also for the sake of your body, the price is that you are forbidden from buying desserts for the entire next year, and all your pocket money must be handed over to me for safekeeping!”