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After hanging up, Shi Wen struggled to focus as he finished working overtime. He reported to his boss and took the opportunity to ask for the next day off, earning himself a lecture.
The next morning.
Shi Wen brought his ID card to the service center and arrived early to wait.
After he took a number, it wasn't long before his turn came.
The woman behind the service counter examined his ID card, then looked at her computer and said, "Your grandfather did indeed have a ranch in his name. If you wish to inherit it, you'll need another physical examination to confirm that you meet the inheritance requirements before we can process it."
Shi Wen said, "Did my grandpa leave a will? Shouldn't my aunt and my dad inherit the ranch?"
The clerk gave him a sweet smile. "Your father, your aunt, and all your other relatives failed to meet the inheritance requirements. Only you met them this year. According to the order of inheritance, it should rightfully pass to you."
Shi Wen hesitated. "I'm not sure I understand. You're saying I only met the requirements this year?"
"According to the report from the hospital, that's correct," the clerk said. "I can see here that you briefly met the requirements in 2016 and 2017. Your physical examination results from last week showed that you met them again."
Shi Wen asked, "What requirements?"
"The requirements for Divinity and Abilities." Seeing the confusion in Shi Wen's eyes, the clerk took a booklet from the upper right corner and handed it to him. "This is an informational booklet from the Abnormal Affairs Bureau. You can read it first."
What Abnormal Affairs Bureau?
What Divinity and Abilities?
Shi Wen took a step back and looked up at the slogans in the hall.
This really was the relevant agency.
He didn't seem to be dreaming, either.
The clerk asked, "Do you have any other questions?"
Shi Wen shook his head.
The clerk gave him a standard eight-toothed smile. "If you have questions, you can go to City B Military District General Hospital for a physical examination. Tell them it's an examination for the Abnormal Affairs Bureau, and they'll arrange it for you."
Not wanting to trouble her any further, Shi Wen took the booklet aside to read.
Published by the Abnormal Affairs Administration Bureau, the booklet gave a detailed introduction to the types of abnormal objects and creatures, as well as management standards, benefits, and so on.
An extremely small number of humans had awakened other bloodlines and become abnormal creatures. They fell under the jurisdiction of the Abnormal Affairs Administration Bureau, with rights they enjoyed and obligations they had to fulfill.
Shi Wen figured he belonged to that category.
But he had no memory of awakening a bloodline, and none of the physical examinations he'd had growing up had indicated anything of the sort.
Had the relevant departments hidden the results?
After sitting in the service center all morning, Shi Wen booked a physical examination at City B Military District General Hospital for that afternoon.
The examination went very smoothly. Perhaps because so few people took it, he didn't have to wait in line at any point, and the results came out in just over an hour.
The report was a thick stack of papers.
Shi Wen sat on a steel chair beside the printing station and flipped through the report from beginning to end. He found two additional hidden categories.
One was Divinity, and the other was Abilities. His Divinity was 201, and his Abilities were 137, both meeting the standards for an awakened bloodline. The analysis below showed that he had awakened the Qilin Bloodline, which was also the bloodline of the king of all beasts.
However, both his Divinity and Abilities were very weak. The standard for an awakened bloodline was 200 Divinity and 100 Abilities, so he had only just qualified.
No wonder no one had contacted him, and he hadn't known about it either.
Shi Wen looked the results over several times. Since it was still early, he returned to the Abnormal Affairs Bureau's service center.
He was assigned the same clerk.
After looking at the results he submitted, the clerk said, "Mr. Shi, your examination results meet the requirements. You can inherit the mountain ranch of three thousand mu in J Province that belonged to Mr. Shi. Would you like to inherit it? It's tax-free, and there's also a certain amount of financial assistance. Once you inherit it, if your bloodline meets the requirements, the term of use will be reset to forty years. When it expires, it can be renewed indefinitely as long as your bloodline meets the requirements."
Shi Wen said, "The handbook says the state allocated this ranch to my grandpa?"
"Yes. The ranch was allocated by the state, and some of its facilities were also built with state assistance. After Mr. Shi passed away, his descendants' bloodlines didn't meet the requirements, so you weren't notified. Only after your examination this year showed once again that your bloodline met the requirements were you notified."
Shi Wen stared blankly.
Seeing his reaction, the clerk handed him a printed slip of paper. "This is the information on the ranch. If you're interested, you can go take a look first."
Shi Wen took it. "Thank you."
"Mr. Shi." The clerk smiled at him. "If you don't use your powers, your bloodline will degenerate. You're currently the only person in Hua Country who has awakened the Qilin Bloodline. Although it's somewhat weak, I'd still recommend giving it a try. Also, please read the confidentiality regulations and related instructions."
As she spoke, the clerk handed him a booklet.
Shi Wen nodded and thanked her again. "All right."
It was Friday, and his job gave him weekends off, so he didn't have to work the next two days.
After returning home, he paced back and forth for a long time. Finally, he gritted his teeth and booked a flight to J Province.
The ranch address the clerk had given him was just outside a small town under the jurisdiction of N City, J Province, over 130 kilometers from N City and far from the tourist areas.
Before today, Shi Wen had never heard of the city, much less the ranch.
After getting off the plane, Shi Wen went to the town first, then took a taxi to the ranch. To his surprise, he found his grandpa's ranch easily.
A wooden sign stood outside the ranch. The somewhat poorly written words "Shi Family Ranch" were clearly in the old man's handwriting.
Shi Wen stood in front of the sign for a while. When he looked up again, the ranch before him suddenly felt familiar.
He looked up at the ranch before him.
The ranch was enclosed by wire fencing, with a wooden gate.
It wasn't May yet, and the grass on the ranch grew sparsely. From a distance, he could see a layer of green, but up close, there was still only dry stubble.
He looked around from outside for a while, then opened the wooden gate and entered the ranch.
The ranch, covering three thousand mu, was enormous. Because it was so flat, he could see the cluster of buildings inside at a glance.