Chapter 5 Unworthy Target

Chapter 5 Unworthy Target

Xu Qingran heard the name of what seemed to be a target of pursuit from someone else in this world for the first time.

Sadly, he only heard the name, never saw the face.

"General Shen is indeed a rare gem in the empire."

The host smiled gently and continued, "Though the royal family clearly announced that areas tainted by the alien 'Devils' will be open to both camps, no matter their allegiance, Red City still falls under Silver Dragon's jurisdiction."

"This time, Golden Wing beat Silver Dragon to solving Red City's long-standing issues. It's also heard that they plan to handle several other severely affected areas. Let me ask Colonel Xie, if all goes well, will Golden Wing take over Red Maple Star's anti-Devil ops from Silver Dragon?"

"If Golden Wing can successfully revive Red Maple Star, with such a big win under their belt, would they seek imperial governance rights over this territory?"

Such sensitive and hot topics are always boldly asked by the empire's drama-loving hosts.

The man on the sofa stayed silent for a solid ten seconds.

Expecting a polished, diplomatic answer, he instead chuckled lightly and said, "Ah, isn't it only natural that Golden Wing solved the problem before Silver Dragon?"

He spoke with a lazy, carefree tone.

"Handling Red Maple's mess this time was just a side gig."

"Red Maple, a key transit hub for supplies, would give us Golden Wing a real headache if it were to be occupied by alien creatures."

As he spoke, he slightly raised his chin towards the camera, "Of course, if Silver Dragon's swamped, they shouldn't be too proud. We wouldn't mind grabbing a few more planets for them."

"That's just how we roll at Golden Wing—capable and always on the job."

Cocky and begging for a punch.

The host was momentarily speechless.

Xu Qingran was silent for a few seconds, then laughed.

The hospital lobby on the same floor exploded with a furious roar.

"Holy crap—"

"Xie Nanjun, you bastard... I was only gone for a day!!!"

The exclamation came from a girl in the lobby.

Her hair was tied up in a high, wavy ponytail, her hair as golden as Xie Nanjun's on TV, wearing a white lab coat. Seeing the news, she stormed out of the hospital, her heels clacking furiously.

Everyone in the lobby, including medical staff, was somewhat dumbfounded.

Xu Qingran watched the automatic doors of the hospital open and then slowly close, laughing a couple more times.

He recalled the scenes from the news.

Suddenly, he felt that the new world might be more interesting than he had thought.

·

More than an hour later, the data on Xu Qingran's wristband finally dropped a bit.

Although he was still in a feverish state, his mind was at least clearer than when he woke up in the afternoon. He did not leave the hospital immediately but followed the system's guidance, quietly arriving at a secluded corner on the 9th floor, a place rarely passed by.

System: "This is the back door that leads to the Soul Matching Studio, and it's also a blind spot in the surveillance system."

In front of him was an ordinary-looking door with a lock that resembled the scanner at his home entrance.

"This lock scans personal soul information, stricter than the one at your home, but it's not a big problem for me," the system said. "Put your hand on it, and I'll hack it for you!"

He complied, and after the scanner's bar slid back and forth a few times, a green light appeared at the bottom, indicating: Verification successful.

With a click, the door unlocked.

Behind the door was a dim, narrow corridor.

Xu Qingran followed it to the end, arriving at another mechanical door with an old poster stuck on it.

"Across myriad galaxies, meeting the one who perfectly matches you."

The slogan, written in a soft font, featured two souls slowly approaching each other as the background, resembling promotional material for the soulmate system.

Xu Qingran slapped his hand on the slogan, unceremoniously covering the romantic words. After confirming that there was no one in the space behind the door, he pushed it open forcefully.

Inside the rectangular space were many tall shelves, lined with neatly arranged disks, resembling a records room. After passing through a couple more rooms, he finally arrived at a door with a window the size of a human head, through which he could see a small studio where a staff member with short, permed hair was sitting.

From the back, it appeared to be a woman.

Xu Qingran leaned against the door, thinking about how to carry out his plan, when suddenly someone entered through the front door.

An acquaintance, no less.

The woman in the chair stood up in surprise: "Oh, Qingan, what brings you here today?"

Xu Qingan politely bowed slightly to her and came straight to the point: "Sister Yan, I came today to ask for your help."

The woman, addressed as Sister Yan, was amused by his sweet tone: "Oh, Qingan, you're such a charmer. I'm already in my seventies, and you still call me 'sister'?"

"Tell me, what do you need my help with?"

Xu Qingran was surprised.

Mainly because the woman looked to be in her forties or fifties, but her actual age was indeed surprising.

"After all, it's the ultra-modern future. Medical and living standards have improved, and the average life expectancy here is over a hundred, so it's normal," the system explained.

In the room separated by the door, Xu Qingan's gentle smile had a hint of bitterness: "I want to ask you to help me replace Lu Cheng, who has a 99% soul compatibility with my brother, with someone else."

The room fell silent.

Xu Qingran stood loosely in the shadows behind the door, slightly raising an eyebrow.

Before the woman he had asked for help could speak, Xu Qingan's eyes turned red.

He stubbornly wiped away his crocodile tears at the corner of his eye, his voice slightly choked up: "You've been close friends with my aunt for many years, so you must already know the matching results she helped me get that day. I finally managed to get engaged to Lu Cheng, and you also know how much my brother despises me now..."

"If he finds out about this, my life might be ruined," Xu Qingan said in the gentlest voice, accusingly. "His temper has become increasingly extreme, and when he came back that day, he even wanted to hurt my mother. If he continues to stay with us, I'm really afraid he might one day lose control and hurt someone in the family."

"But he is still my brother, and I don't want to hurt him. So I thought maybe if he found a new partner and didn't come home often, it might be better for everyone."

A beautiful and innocent boy showing vulnerability in front of most people would not leave them unaffected.

The woman patted his shoulder sympathetically: "Oh, you poor thing, I haven't even said anything yet, and you're already crying? Your auntie came to me that day to help with the data matching. How could I not know about that?"

"I was actually planning to get rid of the stuff tonight, but what you said makes sense. Until your brother's situation is settled, I won't be able to rest easy."

"Alright then, the Golden Wing Battalion just sent over a batch today that's waiting to be matched." As she spoke, she walked over to the counter nearby.

There was a long row of metal shelves, neatly arranged with many sets of small, thin chips.

She went to one of the shelves, opened a small drawer in the middle layer, and started rummaging through the packed tray.

"It's common knowledge that most of those sent over after failing to find a compatible partner in their own camp are subpar matches. I'll just pick a 'real gem' for your brother."

She emphasized the word "real gem" as she spoke.

Xu Qingran, who was behind the door, then asked the system: "All subpar matches? Then how come the target is also in there?"

The system: "...Most, most! Singles who can't find a match, besides being inherently flawed, there's also a small group who are too exceptional and have too unique perspectives, so they can't find a compatible soul!"

"The target is the latter kind!"

Xu Qingran smirked dismissively.

Didn't believe it.

The woman outside quickly found the target she wanted, and after pulling it out, her eyes gleamed with triumph: "You know there's a very famous Boss Chen in the Golden Wing Battalion, right?"

"He's fat, ugly, has a terrible temper, a messy private life, and is riddled with strange illnesses. He hasn't found a match in fifty or sixty years, not even a close confidant. Year after year he fails to match, what a stellar record, you'd be hard-pressed to find another like him in the entire empire."

Xu Qingan obviously had also heard of this character: "I heard he recently found a boyfriend who was quite a catch in every way, didn't it work out?"

"Ha, you don't know yet? Indeed, he finally found someone 20 years his junior with a 29% soul compatibility who was willing to be with him, but then Boss Chen acted like a monster, nearly destroyed the guy, and on top of that, he was a heavy drinker and abusive. In the end, the guy sued him."

"You know in our empire this counts as intentional harm, and if married, the penalty is doubled. One wrong move and you could end up spending the rest of your life behind bars. He only got off because he has some money and managed to settle it privately."

She held the chip in her hand: "This is his soul information sample. What do you think about swapping him for your brother?"

Xu Qingan looked troubled: "Boss Chen has such a terrible temper, wouldn't this be too cruel..."

"Your brother didn't even spare your dignity and caused a scene at your engagement, why are you still thinking about him? I say, someone as awful as him deserves to be matched with scum like Boss Chen!"

As she spoke, she sat down in front of the largest screen in the room, holding two chips and muttering: "Don't worry, your sister is a seasoned pro in the department. Not many have the skills and authority to swap chip data like I do. I'll make sure it's all set up properly for you!"

Xu Qingran, hidden behind the door, quietly observed their little scheme outside. Xu Qingan, the real mastermind, wore a pained, conflicted expression, as if he couldn't bear to face it.

He thought Xu Qingan shouldn't have gone to medical school; he was more suited to be an actor.

A few minutes later, the woman handed the chip that was originally on the table to Xu Qingan to see: "Here, I've already registered Lu Cheng's information sample with Boss Chen's code. Later, I'll upload it to the system database along with other samples, and headquarters will soon discover this result."

"Then, we'll have a good show to watch."

After handling the important matters, they chatted for a bit and then left through the front door.

Only then did Xu Qingran unlock the door and enter the studio, urged by the system to walk over to the counter, to the row of shelves filled with information samples.

The system was more nervous than he was, keeping its attention on the front door for him: "The staff on duty will be back soon, hurry, Shen Tingyu's should be on the G-F09 shelf."

Xu Qingran walked over, found the shelf with over a dozen columns from top to bottom, each column facing him with ten rows arranged vertically, each row with ten chips.

He asked: "And then?"

"Third column from the top, row B, fifth from the left."

Xu Qingran pulled open the drawer of the third column and saw the second row marked with a large 'B'. He retrieved the chip as directed by the system. He held it up to the light, marveling at the faint glow inside, finding it quite magical.

Is this the 'soul essence' extracted from a human soul?

The chip, about the length of a finger joint, was imprinted with a long string of letters and numbers, including the letters 'STY'.

The system exclaimed eagerly, "Yes, yes, I'll help you swap the registration data of the chip now!"

While the system processed, Xu Qingran picked up Boss Chen's chip and held it to the light.

After a long pause, a faint, inscrutable smile crept onto his lips.

·

In the empty corridor on the 9th floor, the tall and slender figure of a man was elongated by the light.

"There's something I don't understand," Xu Qingran spoke up.

"Since Xu Qingan can swap the chip data, why didn't he just change it to his own?"

"You think he didn't want to?"

"He acted too quickly. Last year, when he turned 18, he secretly matched himself with Lu Cheng and got a high compatibility result of 88%. He couldn't resist leaking the news. Only about 10% of couples in the empire have compatibility above 88. Who would have thought the original Xu Qingran and Lu Cheng had an even higher compatibility?"

Xu Qingran: "Can soul compatibility testing only be done after adulthood?"

"Not necessarily."

Soul compatibility testing is an expensive process. Each citizen of the empire gets only one free chance, and subsequent attempts cost thousands or tens of thousands. So, except for those aristocratic families who need to arrange childhood betrothals due to various factors, most people choose to do it after adulthood when their mental reservoir is more stable and they are ready to find a partner.

Xu Qingran asked out of the blue, "When's his next check-up?"

The system paused before catching on that he meant Xu Qingan: "I don't know, what are you planning?"

After a pause, it added, "I can only modify registration details when you initiate a task for the first time, host. Don't mess around!"

Xu Qingran took the elevator down and, turning the corner, bumped into Xu Qingan with an elder.

"Hahaha, good, when you officially start classes, I'll personally guide you!" The man speaking was wearing a doctor's coat, the crow's feet at his eyes crinkling as his smile widened. Though he was of a certain age, his eyes were still very lively.

He must be Lu Cheng's father, Lu Wennian.

As they chatted, they noticed him.

Xu Qingan was surprised: "...Brother? What are you doing here?"

"Seeing a doctor," Xu Qingran replied succinctly.

Lu Wennian, perhaps recalling something unpleasant, instantly lost his smile.

He didn't look directly at him but patted Xu Qingan's shoulder: "Being admitted to Grandis is a significant milestone. Keep it up; avoid shortcuts like others. If you graduate successfully, you might even join the Silver Dragon Legion as a military doctor, and then you can fight alongside Lu Cheng."

Xu Qingan offered a shy smile: "Thank you, Uncle. That's what I plan to do."

Lu Wennian's expression softened with satisfaction and was about to say more when a nurse suddenly ran up from behind.

She held a light board, her voice brimming with excitement: "Professor Lu, the West Third District branch just confirmed the detection of a Type D psychic individual!"

Lu Wennian's attention instantly shifted, his eyes lighting up: "Quick, let me see the data!"

"A B-level mental pool... not great, but better than nothing! Get me a car right now; I need to go to West District 3 immediately!" He looked thrilled, clutching the light panel and following the nurse without a backward glance, clearly showing that nothing else mattered more.

From a distance, his rapid speech was still audible: "By the way, has the news been notified to the Tower of Evil? Hurry up, arrange for the E-type in the tower to pair with this person's soul..."

As Xu Qingran looked away, he accidentally noticed a hint of envy in Xu Qingan's eyes as he watched Lu Wennian leave.

He thought it over carefully.

Despite living under the same roof, the two eventually went their separate ways.

Xu Qingran got home first; his father was away on a sudden business trip and wasn't home. With his father gone, his stepmother's attitude became even more dismissive, and she didn't bother pretending to care.

He retreated to his room, took a long shower, took the medicine from the hospital, and went back to bed to catch up on sleep.

He slept, drifting through another two days.

If it hadn't been for the loud banging on the front door and the relentless doorbell, he thought he could have slept another day.

His wristwatch showed a temperature of 37.8.

The room's curtains were tightly closed, and he didn't bother turning on the lights. Fumbling in the dim light, he grabbed some clothes from the wardrobe, threw on a jacket, and headed downstairs.

The commotion outside the door was unexpectedly intense.

Several figures in silver-black military uniforms locked eyes with him and, for some reason, tensed into a combat stance, gripping their guns tightly.

He asked the system skeptically, "Didn't you say the matching data between me and Shen Tingyu wouldn't be ready so soon?"

The system: "...It shouldn't, in theory."

The man scrutinizing him at the front was older.

He had a cigarette dangling from his mouth, looking vaguely familiar, but Xu Qingran couldn't place where he'd seen him before.

A flicker of surprise crossed the man's eyes, and he asked hesitantly, "Mr. Xu Qingran?"

"Yes," he replied.

Xu Qingran's neck was still wrapped in layers of bandages, and he looked frail, his eyes heavy with sleep. His face was delicate and unthreatening, but his eyes carried a faint, chilling edge, like that of a seasoned killer.

The middle-aged soldier asked again, "Just to confirm, Mr. Xu, you're 19 this year, and your ST—your soul and mental type—is still undetermined, correct?"

Xu Qingran wasn't sure what he meant, but he quickly checked his health-monitoring wristwatch for the answer.

ST: Unknown. He nodded in confirmation.

The men at the door paused for a moment before explaining, "Here's the situation: based on reports and your recent extreme behavior, we believe you have the potential to awaken as an E-type extremist."

"Effective immediately, you'll be designated as an observation subject and sent to the Tower of Evil for critique and behavioral adjustment."