I'm a Namekian

"Without a doubt, I'm a Namekian," Su Jin replied calmly.

"Cousin, are you... wearing human skin?" Fu Qingdai asked in a trembling voice.

"This is just what we Namekians look like!"

Hearing Su Jin's firm answer, Fu Qingdai felt a little relieved, but countless questions still crowded her mind.

After thinking for a while, she finally asked the question that puzzled her most.

"Cousin... what exactly was going on in my dream?"

"It's actually a little complicated, so I'll keep it short," Su Jin said, thinking as he spoke. "There are many civilizations in the universe, and we're just one of them. Our higher-ups discovered that a gang of space pirates had set their sights on you. They're Trisolarans. There's no evil they won't commit. They like to slaughter every living thing on a planet, turn the bodies into fertilizer, and then plunder the planet's resources."

"Those deranged Trisolarans have now released a virus into your atmosphere. Once most of the people here are dead, they'll wait a few more decades before coming back to reap the harvest."

Fu Qingdai's pretty face instantly turned deathly pale. "Then why did you choose me? You should be telling the important people! I... why am I the first person this happened to...?"

The more she spoke, the more frantic she became, and tears streamed down Fu Qingdai's face.

This is terrifying! I'm just an ordinary pretty girl. Why did something this huge have to land on me first?

Seeing her start sobbing again, Su Jin looked troubled, and waves of distress rose in his own heart.

You think I don't fucking want to know why this happened to me? I'm just an ordinary handsome guy with a lean, muscular body, a sense of responsibility, and great professional skills!

"Don't cry, Qing Dai." Su Jin suppressed his frustration and comforted her gently. "The company actually had a reason for choosing you. Your body is special. You have antibodies against the virus. As long as you're alive, we can develop a cure."

"Then hurry up and do it! I'll cooperate with whatever you need!" Fu Qingdai held out her arm, crying. "Why don't we call the police first, Cousin...? Contact them with your spaceship. They'll definitely believe you!"

"We can't really do that right now. I unexpectedly ran into the Trisolarans on my way here, and my ship was shot down and crashed. I don't even know where it landed. All my teammates died. I'm the only one left. The disaster is definitely coming, so we'll just have to take things one step at a time. Your biggest job right now is to stay alive. If you die, everyone else is finished too."

At those words, a mountain of pressure came crashing down!

Fu Qingdai's face drained of color, and her expression went blank.

Seeing this, Su Jin said, "You need to get yourself into the right frame of mind. A lot of things haven't happened yet, so we can still prepare in advance. The situation might not be as bad as you think."

Perhaps because she had spent so long coping with pressure, Fu Qingdai quickly recovered. In a hoarse voice, she stammered, "Cousin... I still don't understand. Why did you come to save us...?"

"It's simple. Where there are bad guys, there are good guys. To protect the world from devastation, to preserve peace throughout the universe, and to uphold the justice of love and truth, we've always traveled the universe protecting other civilizations."

"Besides, the Trisolarans have attacked Namek several times. That alone means we could never stand by and do nothing. We Namekians love peace, but anyone who attacks Namek will be slain, no matter how far away they are!" Su Jin spoke forcefully, but inwardly, he felt increasingly miserable.

I'm so nervous I'm about to piss myself, and I still have to crack jokes to help someone else cope.

Still, this girl really did have it rough. The pressure she was under was no less than his own.

"That doesn't sound very peace-loving..."

"We Namekians hate nitpicking more than anything!"

"I won't ask any more, Cousin. I'm sorry..." Fu Qingdai wiped her tears, looking aggrieved.

Just as Su Jin was about to continue, a somewhat cold voice came from behind him.

"Hey, you... Namekian. Come with me for a moment."

Fu Qingdai stopped crying, and Su Jin turned around.

A stern-faced female nurse of about twenty-three or twenty-four had appeared behind him at some point, looking displeased.

Su Jin gave Fu Qingdai a meaningful look, then turned to face the nurse.

"Come with me," the nurse said coldly.

With that, she headed toward an open balcony. Watching her retreating figure, Su Jin steadied himself.

Perfect... I'll talk things through with this nurse and treat it as practice for fitting into society.

The nurse stopped and looked at Su Jin. "Are you a relative of Fu Qingdai's?"

"I'm her cousin," Su Jin said calmly.

"Her mother came to see her this morning. Did you register when you arrived?"

"Of course. Is there a problem?"

"There's no problem with that, but she's suffering from severe delusions, and you're talking nonsense with her. That's very bad for your cousin's condition!" the nurse said seriously. "You're welcome to visit her, but I hope you won't interfere with our treatment."

"Miss, I think there's been a misunderstanding. May I ask your name?"

"Ding Jia. What misunderstanding?"

"I looked after Qing Dai when she was little. We're very close, and I often played role-playing games with her back then. This time, I was just helping her relive those memories." Su Jin paused. "I just got back from abroad. I was going to surprise her at school, but then her classmates told me she'd been hospitalized."

"Her thinking seems fairly clear to me. Apart from being upset, she doesn't seem to have any major problems. How is she doing, exactly? Is she adjusting to life here?"

He just got back from abroad? That's pretty unusual.

Ding Jia looked Su Jin up and down. "Her condition isn't very promising. She frequently experiences delusions and goes around telling people that the end of the world is coming, urging them to prepare in advance."

"Still, now that you mention it... I do think there's something odd about the way she behaves."

"Odd how?"

Ding Jia sighed. "She doesn't behave like the other patients. To be honest, I also think she seems perfectly normal most of the time, but the things she says are completely outlandish. It's as if she really saw the apocalypse."

Su Jin pressed a hand to his forehead and smiled wryly. "Her classmates told me her grades have dropped sharply lately. Maybe her mom has been pushing her too hard, and it's put her under too much mental strain. She might be saying these things to give herself an excuse. But Miss Ding, I have a favor to ask. I don't know if you'd be willing to help."

"What is it?" Ding Jia looked at Su Jin in confusion.

"I don't want her to stay here. Qing Dai doesn't want to either, and you know what this environment is like. It'll only put her under more pressure and interfere with her studies. My uncle dotes on his daughter, so I'm sure he doesn't want her staying here either. The main problem right now is that my aunt won't agree... I'd like your help. Next time her mother comes, could you put in a word for me and persuade her to take Qing Dai home?"

"Absolutely not!" Ding Jia said firmly. "We have rules and procedures. Unless her parents insist on taking her home, in which case we won't interfere."

"Of course I understand. That's why I'm only asking. How about this-let's exchange phone numbers."

As he spoke, Su Jin casually pulled out his prestigious Xiaomi Mi 6 and lit up its ultra-clear 1080p screen.