In the Name of Divine Abilities, Part 44

Zhang Like was the first to broach the gossip. "How did it feel today?"

Lu Zhao answered with a question. "How did what feel?"

"Playing dumb again? Word's spread all over the station. Team Leader Lin personally told you to ride with her."

Winking and nudging, Zhang Like said, "Come on, stop being stubborn and think about whether you two could make it work. She's from the Cangwu Lin Family. If you get in with them, Lü Jinshan won't stand a chance against you."

Lu Zhao wiped his mouth with a tissue and answered with another question. "Have you ever seen two mental-type transcendents get married?"

"Uh..."

Zhang Like thought it over carefully. It seemed he really hadn't.

Then again, there were so few mental-type transcendents. There were only a few thousand in the entire Federation, and in all his decades of life, Lu Zhao was the only one he'd met.

There had always been rumors that mental-type transcendents could all read minds, so it was basically impossible for them to get together.

But Lu Zhao clearly didn't seem capable of reading minds.

"Why?"

Lu Zhao explained, "When powerful mental energy spills over, it affects each person to varying degrees. It's like two magnets: they might stick together, or they might repel each other."

Zhang Like said, "Wouldn't sticking together make it easier for them to hit it off?"

"They can use willpower to suppress the repulsion, but if they stick together, their consciousnesses will mix like mud."

Lu Zhao brought his hands together and fully interlaced his fingers.

"Their consciousnesses get jumbled together, and in the end, they suffer mental collapse."

Zhang Like's eyes widened slightly. "It's that serious?"

"That's a fairly extreme case. Usually, they'll separate of their own accord once their memories start getting muddled."

Lu Zhao spread his hands. "Team Leader Lin and I repel each other."

In truth, it was more because there were so few of them, and they were all rather proud.

Zhang Like looked thoughtful, then said regretfully, "That's a real shame. If you could get in with Team Leader Lin, things would be much easier for us."

"I can, but it's dangerous."

Lu Zhao recounted everything that had happened that day. At first, Zhang Like was still relaxed enough to question Lu Zhao's "mental-type transcendents don't marry" theory, but by the time he heard the end, he had fallen completely silent.

He took out a cigarette and puffed away for a while before saying, "Has the clash between the mighty gotten so intense that it's reached the grassroots?"

Since the ten-year War of National Defense had ended, peace had effectively vanished from society. There was nowhere in the land that was stable.

From street gangs to the circuit political situations of the Martial Marquises, fierce confrontations were going on at every level, at every moment.

Zhang Like had thought everyone was fighting without going so far as to break with one another, but now, in the blink of an eye, he seemed to have found himself caught up in a clash between Martial Marquises. Its intensity had reached the grassroots.

That was a very dangerous sign. When clashes at the top began to require support from the grassroots, it marked the beginning of a shooting war.

"Old Lu, I suggest you stay out of it. Your Life Development is progressing quickly now. Didn't you say you were going to the Red Water Army in the Central South Circuit next year?"

"..."

Lu Zhao was silent for a moment. "That is what I had in mind, but I'm afraid it would take more than ten years to work my way up over there."

Connections were needed everywhere, even in the military.

His earlier plan had simply been based on the idea that, compared with being held down by the Chen Family in the South Sea Circuit, he would find a fairer environment in the Central South Circuit.

Lu Zhao had been thinking all along: was fairness all he needed?

The Federation had never lacked geniuses. Each year, the two great academies, Red Water and Imperial Capital, produced several thousand graduates, while the somewhat lesser academies produced tens of thousands more.

If he joined the Red Water Army and everything went smoothly, it would probably take him twenty or thirty years to be promoted to general officer.

That was too slow.

Lu Zhao could already sense that local powers were growing stronger, almost to the point of the military governors of the late Tang dynasty. That was not a good thing.

On top of that, what Lin Zhiyan had said today had given him an even worse suspicion.

The Federation might fall apart before he managed to work his way up.

But can I trust Lin Zhiyan?

Lu Zhao knew that a little impatience could ruin great plans. If he rushed straight in, he would only become a weapon in someone else's hands.

He nodded. "I'll be careful."

Ring, ring, ring.

His phone rang. The call was from an unfamiliar number.

When he answered, a familiar voice came through.

"Staff Officer Lu, the operation is tomorrow. Report to the Fang City Special Service Response Detachment base at eight in the morning. Major Xu Zhenhua will be accompanying you."

"Yes."

Lu Zhao acknowledged the order, then said, "I don't think I gave you my number."

Public employees' work numbers were kept on file, but this was his private number.

For Lin Zhiyan to get hold of it, she had probably needed to contact the telecommunications operator.

"Did you need to?"

On the other end of the line, she spoke as though it were only natural. "It was all necessary for work, Senior Lu. Don't be so petty."

June 18.

Lu Zhao received orders from the special investigation team. He went straight to logistics and requisitioned a military truck, then selected ten first-stage transcendents from the various companies to form a temporary squad and enter Fang City.

Among them was Liao Lang from the duty company.

Along the way, the scenery changed from mountains and dense forests to high-rises with white walls and blue glass. The sounds around them changed from birdsong and chirping insects to the ringing of bicycle bells.

He arrived just in time for the morning rush. Residents on standard roadster bicycles filled the streets like swarms of worker ants.

As the military truck waited at a traffic light, Liao Lang, sitting in the driver's seat, remarked, "Everyone used to drive cars. Now it's like we're going backward."

Lu Zhao, in the passenger seat, said, "We're lucky to be alive. Who knows how many more years of peace we'll have?"

As he remembered it, ten years ago people had all driven cars, and every family could afford one.

After the Great Cataclysm, many people sold their cars and switched to more economical bicycles.

The economic downturn and wave of layoffs were one reason. Another was the decline in oil and gas resources, which had caused gasoline prices to soar.

Now, 95-octane gasoline cost twenty yuan per liter, while the minimum wage was only two thousand yuan. In today's society, the minimum was often the actual wage.

Lu Zhao worked for the government and didn't have to pay out of pocket, but ordinary people couldn't afford it.

Bicycles had become the most economical means of transportation.

These days, people only needed to travel between three places: the factory, school, and home.

Many simply lived in large factory complexes with schools, hospitals, shopping streets, and so on, where all their daily needs could be met without leaving the complex.

The Hua People had expressed dissatisfaction over this, but it had rarely escalated into unrest. Happiness was relative. Whenever public anger boiled over, large-scale food shortages would appear in the Foreign District.

A Hua person earning two thousand yuan a month would calm down upon seeing the foreign residents starving to skin and bones.

At least I'm still human, and I can still live in peace.

No one in this era was truly happy and fulfilled. The only difference was how much they suffered.

The great disaster had never ended. Civilization had long since receded, and humanity was still searching in the darkness for a way to revive it.

Chapter 54: Special Service Response Detachment

The Special Service Response Detachment was located in the southern part of Fang City.

Lu Zhao gave his identification to the sentry at the gate for inspection. The man glanced at it, then gave him an appraising look.

He looked as though he wanted to say something but stopped himself, with a hint of hostility.

"Let them through."

Lu Zhao entered the Special Service Response Detachment base. To his left was a large, open training ground.

Special Response members in camouflage training uniforms were running, chanting "One, two, one, two, three, four" in perfect unison.

To the right stood an administrative building with its exterior covered in white ceramic tiles. It was five stories tall and looked much more imposing than the border station.

Lu Zhao told Liao Lang and the others to wait outside and entered the building alone. After he showed his identification, a receptionist led him all the way to the office of the Special Service Response Detachment commander.

The faint sound of conversation came from inside the room.

Knock, knock, knock.

As soon as the knock sounded, the voices inside fell silent.

"Commander Wang, Captain Lu from the border station is here."

"Come in."

The door opened, and the receptionist stepped aside. Lu Zhao walked in, and the smell of smoke hit him in the face.

There were two people in the office: a colonel sitting behind the desk, and Xu Zhenhua, the Special Service Detachment company commander with whom Lu Zhao had had a conflict some time ago.

The former was a second-stage transcendent, and Lu Zhao felt a distinct sense of danger.

Mental-type transcendents were much more sensitive to danger than other types of transcendents.

He went to Xu Zhenhua's right, stood at attention, and saluted. "Captain Lu Zhao, training staff officer of Ant Ridge Border Station, reporting as ordered."

A somewhat hostile gaze came from beside him.

"Comrade Lu Zhao, I'm Wang Tong, the detachment commander."

The colonel stood and returned the salute, then picked up a document in a kraft-paper envelope from the desk and gestured for Lu Zhao to sit on the sofa to one side.

"Time is short, so let's first get each other up to speed on the mission."

"Yes."