Chapter 6
The original Xu Qingran had never been on good terms with his stepmother. He rarely ate at home, usually preferring to spend money eating out.
She had assumed he would refuse as usual, but to her surprise, he walked silently toward the dining room after hearing her out.
He actually sat down at the table and began to eat.
Xu Qingran might refuse anything, but never food, much less waste it.
No one knew what it was like to go without even a single potato to eat, but he knew all too well.
Despite his forty-degree fever, Xu Qingran finished every bit of food left on the table before silently heading out. Only after he had left did his father, sitting on the living room sofa, let out a cold snort and put down the electronic financial report in his hands. He walked into the dining room with a stern face.
The next second, his startled, furious voice rang out. "Who ate my portion too?!"
Xu Qingran had no driver to take him to the hospital, so he had to go himself. He boarded a flying vehicle, switched it to automatic mode, and had the system set the destination for him. Then he slumped drowsily against the seat.
By the time he reached the hospital in District 1, he felt as though all his energy had been drained away.
Upon entering the hospital, Xu Qingran first noticed the medical staff's unfamiliar, novel uniforms. Unlike the monotonous ones he remembered, their moon-white clothing featured silver-gray designs. Besides the hospital's own emblem, a silver badge adorned the front of each uniform.
Its design resembled a dragon.
Subtle silver patterns were also embroidered on their trouser legs, swaying gracefully as they walked.
"Those are faction insignia," the system said.
In the Kaian Empire, aside from the main star system where the royal palace was located, the other regions were governed by two different factions.
One was called Silver Dragon, the other Golden Wing. The supreme commander of each faction came from the royal family, so both forces were ultimately controlled by the imperial royal family. People liked to compare the two factions, and with their performance tied to vested interests, relations between them and even the people in their respective territories were often less than cordial.
After hearing all that, Xu Qingran had only one assessment: all flash and no substance.
The hospital wasn't particularly crowded, and he soon registered at a self-service terminal.
Before leaving home, he had thrown on a dark hooded jacket. With his head lowered and his hood concealing most of his face, he quietly sat down in a secluded corner away from the crowds after registering.
"What's the highest Spiritual Pool level?" Xu Qingran asked the system about the Spiritual Pool while he waited.
"In the official classification, the highest level is SSS. However, among the population, a tiny number of exceptionally gifted individuals test at a Mental Power level far beyond S-Class 3. They're known as E-Type Spiritual Power Users."
E-Type Spiritual Power Users, the full name being Extremist, were also called "Extremists."
Because this group was extremely powerful, with abilities surpassing nearly all the empire's guards, they had a high potential to become criminals the state could not control. Therefore, everyone officially classified as an E-Type Spiritual Power User had to be sent to the "Evil Tower" on the main planet.
Simply put, it was a prison specifically for holding people like them.
They could be released only after undergoing training and instruction in the Evil Tower and ultimately passing every personality test to ensure they would not become extreme villains. Moreover, those who successfully left the Evil Tower usually had only one path: to join the imperial military and use their gifts to defend the country.
After hearing that, Xu Qingran immediately felt that the B-rank he had suffered to attain was nothing but garbage.
"Is B-rank the highest Spiritual Pool level you can adjust me to?" he asked.
The system replied, "That's right."
He asked again, "Then how can I continue improving from here?"
"Just activate and complete the support mission provided by the system."
All I have to do is complete a mission? Xu Qingran thought.
That's pretty simple.
"What mission?" Xu Qingran asked confidently.
As far as he knew, there was nothing he couldn't do.
Then he heard the system say, "The mission in this world is to win over Golden Wing Camp's current admiral, Shen Tingyu."
His already poor health took another blow.
Xu Qingran's thoughts stalled for a few seconds. Then he asked, "This Admiral Shen you're talking about, is he a woman?"
The system said, "He's a man."
For once, cracks appeared in Xu Qingran's expression.
Leaving aside how bizarre the mission was, hadn't they made a mistake with the target's gender?
The system said, "Two men can be together too! Same-sex couples can even register their marriage in this world. Aren't the little green tea and the scummy childhood friend an example?"
He paused, his voice listless. "But I never said I liked men."
"You never said you liked girls either," the system replied, full of confidence.
Xu Qingran fell silent, thinking that if he were any more foolish, the system's twisted logic might actually have led him astray.
The system asked him again, "Then do you like girls?"
The hospital system's voice called a number over the loudspeaker, and an elderly couple in the front row slowly made their way to a consultation room together. By contrast, the figure in the farthest corner of the back row, trying to hide himself at the very edge of the world, seemed a little lonely.
Xu Qingran realized he couldn't answer the system's question.
Living in a chaotic era, he had spent all these years thinking only about how to survive another day. His understanding of romance was simple and one-sided.
It was between a man and a woman.
And it had nothing to do with him.
Announcements sounded one after another in the hall as people came and went around him. Like a petrified statue, he sat in the same position with his hands clasped for a long, long time. Only then did he raise a hand to cover his eyes and let out a long sigh.
If he were told to kill monsters or people, be a spy or an infiltrator, even act or sing, he felt he could give it a shot.
While he was thinking, his number was called.
He rose in a daze and made his choice. "I won't do it."
Honestly, at this stage he had no interest in either men or women.
Partners and allies were no match for a single potato.
Besides, someone of admiral rank was probably an old man.