Chapter 3: E-Type Psychic User

Chapter 3: E-Type Psychic User

At the doorway, Xu Qingan was putting on his shoes while responding, "Yes, my uncle is a professor at Grandis Medical College, so I wanted to share the good news of my successful admission with him and also ask about the preparations needed before the semester starts."

"Sure, I'll have the driver take you there," Xu's father chuckled, escorting him out while muttering, "If only your brother could be as dependable as you are. Cheating on such a major exam really tarnishes our family's reputation..."

Xu Qingran slowly descended the stairs.

His stepmother had just stepped out of the kitchen and was slightly startled to see him, but she managed to put on a smile and asked, "You're up? Lunch is in the dining room if you're hungry."

He had intended to go straight out but paused, silent for a few seconds before asking, "Is that for me?"

Xu's father, who had just seen Xu Qingan off, came back in, and the stepmother's smile softened further, "What are you talking about? There's always been a portion for you at home. If no one eats it, it'll just go to waste."

Xu Qingran, in his original state, had never had a good relationship with his stepmother, rarely ate at home, preferring to spend money on eating out.

She expected him to refuse as usual, but to her surprise, after listening to her, he silently walked to the dining room.

He actually sat down at the table and began to eat.

Xu Qingran might refuse everything, but never food—especially not waste.

No one knows what it's like to go without even a potato, but he knows all too well.

Despite a 40-degree fever, he finished the remaining food on the table and quietly left the house. After he left, Xu's father, sitting on the living room sofa, snorted coldly, put down his electronic financial report, and walked into the dining room with a stern face.

The next moment, his voice rang out in shock and anger, "Who ate my portion?!"

·

Xu Qingran had no driver to take him to the hospital, so he had to go alone. He boarded the aircraft, activated the automatic mode, set the destination, and leaned back in his seat, feeling dizzy.

By the time he arrived at the hospital in District 1, he felt utterly drained.

Upon entering the hospital, Xu Qingran first noticed the medical staff's uniforms, which were unfamiliar and novel. Unlike the plain ones he remembered, these were moon-white with silver-gray designs, and besides the hospital's own emblem on the chest, there was also a silver badge.

The design looked like a dragon.

Silver patterns were also embroidered on the trouser legs, moving gracefully with their steps.

"That's the faction emblem," the system explained.

In the Kayan Empire, apart from the main star system where the palace is located, other regions are managed by two different factions.

One is called the Silver Dragon, and the other the Golden Wing. The highest commanders of both factions come from the royal family, essentially forces controlled by the imperial family. People often compare the two factions, and due to performance-related interests, the relationship between the factions and the people in their governed areas is often not very harmonious.

Xu Qingran had only one comment after hearing this: flashy.

There weren't too many people in the hospital, and he quickly registered at the self-service system.

Before leaving, he had put on a dark hooded jacket, kept his head down, the hood covering most of his face, and after registering, he silently sat in a secluded corner with few people.

"What's the highest level of the psychic pool?" Xu Qingran asked the system about the psychic pool during the wait.

"In the official level classification, the highest is SSS. However, there are a very few with extremely high talent, whose tested psychic strength far surpasses the 3S level, known as E-Type Psychic Users."

E-Type Psychic Users (full name Extremist), also known as 'Extremists'.

Because this group is extremely powerful, their abilities nearly surpass all the empire's guards, with great potential to become criminals beyond the state's control. Therefore, all officially listed E-Type Psychic Users are to be sent to the 'Tower of Evil' on the main star.

In plain terms, it's a prison specifically designed to detain such individuals.

Only after undergoing training and guidance at the Tower of Evil, and ultimately passing all psychological evaluations to ensure they won't become dangerous extremists, can they be released. Moreover, those who successfully leave the Tower of Evil usually have only one path: to become one of the imperial military personnel, using their abilities to protect the nation.

After hearing this, Xu Qingran suddenly felt that his hard-earned B-level felt utterly worthless.

"B-level, is that the highest mental capacity level you can help me adjust to?" he asked.

The system replied, "Yes."

He then asked, "So, what other methods can I use to continue improving?"

"By opening and completing the support tasks provided by the system," it said.

Xu Qingran thought, as long as I complete the tasks?

That sounds easy enough.

"What tasks?" Xu Qingran asked confidently.

In his mind, there was nothing he couldn't handle.

Until he heard the system say, "The task in this world is to win over the current general of the Golden Wing Battalion, Shen Tingyu."

His already shaky health took a nosedive.

Xu Qingran's mind went blank for a moment, then he asked, "The General Shen Tingyu you mentioned, is she a woman?"

The system replied, "He's a man."

Xu Qingran's composure faltered for the first time.

Regardless of the peculiarity of the task, wasn't there a mistake in the gender arrangement of the target?

The system said, "Two men can be together too! In this world, same-sex couples can get married, aren't the naive one and his deceitful childhood friend just like that?"

He paused, then said flatly, "But I never said I like men."

"You never said you like girls either," the system retorted confidently.

Xu Qingran fell silent, thinking that if he were any dumber, he might actually fall for the system's flawed reasoning.

The system then asked him, "So, do you like girls?"

The hospital's PA system called out numbers, and an elderly couple in the front row slowly walked towards the examination room. In contrast, the figure huddled in the far corner of the back row, trying to disappear, looked utterly alone.

Xu Qingran found that he couldn't answer the system's question.

Living in a chaotic era, his mind had been filled only with thoughts of how to survive another day, and his understanding of love was shallow and one-dimensional.

A man and a woman dating.

And it had nothing to do with him.

The announcements in the hall sounded one after another, and people around came and went. He sat frozen, hands clasped, unmoving for what felt like an eternity, before finally raising his hand to cover his eyes and letting out a long sigh.

He felt he could fight to kill monsters, to be a spy or a traitor, even to act or sing.

As he pondered, his number was called.

Groggily, Xu Qingran stood up and made his decision: "I'm not doing it."

To be honest, he wasn’t interested in anyone, male or female, at this stage.

What’s the use of a partner or ally? I’d rather have a potato.

Besides, a general-level target is probably some old guy.

As he spoke, Xu Qingran walked into the consultation room.

The doctor, a young man with glasses, checked his information while asking about his condition. But his expression turned a bit odd when he saw his name.

Xu Qingran ignored it, his voice hoarse as he honestly reported his high fever, which made both the doctor and the nurse beside him tense up. They only relaxed a bit after confirming his brain wasn’t fried and there were no serious injuries.

Then they noticed the large bruise on his neck.

The doctor gave him a complicated look: "You... I'll treat your injuries first, then prescribe some fever-reducing medicine. Wait here for an IV. If you improve in an hour, you won’t need to stay for observation."

As he spoke, he glanced at what seemed to be a monitor: "The system also shows your MT levels are critically low, and your mental energy is drained. I’ll have the nurse give you an MT shot to help your mental recovery."

"This should also help bring your fever down faster."

Xu Qingran's long lashes lifted slightly as he saw the nurse approaching with a syringe and medication.

Instantly, his pupils shrank, as if he’d seen something terrifying and revolting. Before she could get close, he shot up, snatched the prescription, and said coldly, "No thanks, I’m not taking that."

With that, he walked out, leaving no chance for anyone to stop him.

The system sounded confused: 「Host, why did you refuse the MT injection?」

「It’s just a mental energy boost, originally made to quickly recharge soldiers fighting in space. It's like a nutrient shot, not dangerous at all.」

Xu Qingran didn’t answer. He left the room and stood frozen in the hallway, unusually deep in thought.

It was unclear if he even heard the system's question.

He only snapped out of it when a new number was called, and a mother with a toddler walked by. He stepped aside and headed to the pharmacy window.

After a few steps, he spotted Xu Qingan, who was supposedly also heading to the hospital, at the other end of the hall.

But Xu Qingan didn’t come over. Instead, he walked off with some medical staff, laughing and chatting, and turned a corner without noticing Xu Qingran.

Xu Qingran looked away, and soon a staff member came over.

But instead of the expected IV, they gave him a mist inhaler. Maybe his earlier reaction made the doctor think he was scared of needles.

He didn’t explain, just followed the instructions, putting the mask on and closing his eyes tiredly.

The system seemed to be fiddling with something again, then suddenly asked: 「So, you’re sure you don’t want to take the support mission?」

「You’ve only got seven days to accept it. If you don’t, it’s gone for good.」

Xu Qingran was silent for a moment, then asked, "If I don't take the mission, are there other ways in this world to improve my mental pool?"

Even if it requires taking some extreme measures.

「There are, but such opportunities are rare and usually very difficult.」

Xu Qingran didn't care: "As long as there's a way."

The system sighed: 「Alright, but if you don’t take the mission, you won’t be able to regain the abilities from your past life.」

On the hospital bench, the man, who’d been sitting with his eyes closed, suddenly opened them at this.