Chapter 36

Chapter 36

It was at this moment that the Special Team members pushed the door open, their faces stern and unsmiling, though they were actually trying to hold back their embarrassment.

Guang Yongwang’s expression was especially strange, as if he wanted to say something but felt that explaining would only make things more awkward.

To be honest, when they weren’t on missions, they often teased each other about changes in hair color, but this was the first time they felt so ashamed.

The key point was that they were being praised by a child.

If it were really as good-looking as the child said, it might have been fine, but the problem was, even with thick skin, they couldn’t convince themselves that their dark complexions and hair that glows like LED lights were actually attractive.

With how ridiculous they looked, it'd be polite of people not to even mock them.

But Lin Jiaxu’s little face was very serious, clearly indicating that he genuinely thought so.

Yu Ruoshu smiled, reached out to pat the child’s head, and turned to see the people in uniform. She quickly stood up to greet them.

“May I ask who you are?”

“Hello, we are the Lan City Special Operations Team. Xiao Qian should have mentioned us, right?” Zhang Hongyuan said in a deep voice.

Yu Ruoshu and the others quickly nodded. “Yes, you must be Captain Zhang, right? Hello, hello.”

Before today, they had never seen or heard of this team.

But they had no doubts about their identities.

First, Zhang Hongyuan and the others carried a military bearing. Second, their weapons and uniforms clearly indicated their legitimate status.

Moreover, the couple actually knew quite a bit about Zhong Qian’s background.

Zhong Qian’s parents were martyrs who died in the line of duty when he was very young. He was raised by his grandparents until he was eleven or twelve, but after they passed away, he was adopted by his parents’ comrades. He grew up in a proper, upstanding family background, so there was no reason for him to deliberately deceive them.

Additionally, Li Yuanlu, who adopted Zhong Qian, had just called and spoken with them.

So, while Yu Ruoshu and the others felt somewhat uneasy about why Zhong Qian had called these people over, they didn’t suspect Zhong Qian meant any harm toward them.

They quickly exchanged pleasantries.

The hospital room wasn’t a suitable place for a conversation, and the Special Team were short on time. However, for the sake of their ultimate goal, Zhang Hongyuan decided not to dive right into the main issue right away.

He shot a subtle glance at Lin Jiaxu and said with a smile, “I heard from Xiao Qian that you two had some questions about the Aliens?”

“That’s right. Xiao Qian said we had to wait for you to arrive before he could explain.”

Noticing that their eyes kept drifting toward Lin Jiaxu, Yu Ruoshu seemed to sense that their purpose wasn’t as simple as it seemed.

Lin Jiaxu recognized Zhang Hongyuan the moment he saw him—this was the person who had once followed him.

He looked around at the people in the room and hid behind Yu Ruoshu.

Zhong Qian said calmly, “Yes, because it involves confidential information, I wasn’t sure if I could tell you, so I called the captain over.”

He was completely making this up.

Zhang Hongyuan flinched slightly but continued, “Yes, that’s right. But we can discuss it now. If there’s anything I can’t disclose, I’ll let you know.”

“Xiao Qian, I'll get straight to the point with you. I want to know, were Xiao Chen and Xiao Yu really injured from a fall?”

Yu Ruoshu nervously asked about the children’s injuries.

“No,” Zhong Qian said seriously. “Their condition is due to pollution. Their bodies have undergone mutations.”

“Pollution? What is that? And what are these mutations?” Yu Ruoshu instantly grew tense.

“Pollution… you can think of it as a certain substance carried by those monsters. We call it pollution factor. It’s similar to a virus but not exactly the same. Any living being that comes into close contact with it will be infected, without exception.”

When speaking to ordinary people, Zhong Qian left some things out. The pollution wasn’t actually caused by these Low-Class Aliens; they were merely carriers and spreaders.

The real source of pollution came from the inaccessible Pollution Zones and high-risk-level Aliens.

According to the Alien Bureau’s findings, only S-Class Aliens and Pollution Zones above A-level could truly be considered sources of pollution—entities that could continuously spread pollution. In a way, Lin Jiaxu was the first Alien above S-level that humans had ever encountered.

But this was only based on current records. Zhong Qian had seen other Aliens above S-level before, though at the time, he hadn’t realized how powerful they were.

Zhong Qian frowned slightly and said, “The changes that occur in polluted individuals are what we call mutations. Mutations can be positive or negative. Positive mutations may lead to the awakening of superhuman abilities, which are…”

Here, Zhong Qian glanced at Lin Jiaxu and told a small lie, “…special abilities, like the thorny vines on Jia Jia’s hand. We call them superhuman abilities. As for more details, I can’t share them with you and your husband.”

“What if they don’t awaken? How can we tell if it’s a positive mutation?”

The couple thought of their hospitalized children and felt their legs go weak. What if their mutations were negative…?

“Actually, the terms ‘positive’ and ‘negative’ only describe the outcome of the mutation. Xiao Chen and the others’ pollution is currently under control. There’s no need to worry too much—they were brought to the hospital in time, and the mutations have been suppressed.”

Zhong Qian’s voice was reassuring. To help them relax a bit, he smiled and said, “As for awakening, even if they don’t awaken, it won’t have any negative impact. At most, it means the door to that extraordinary world is closed to them, and they’ll continue living as ordinary people.”

“I’d rather they stay ordinary forever,” Yu Ruoshu said with a bitter smile.

They felt uneasy, sensing that if the children truly awakened, they might head down a path they can't even understand.

But reality didn’t give them a choice. All they could do was face it.

At that moment, Xu Kaichang suddenly thought of Lin Jiaxu and quickly asked, “Then has Jia Jia already awakened?”

“Yes, he is now a Superhuman.”

Zhong Qian didn’t bat an eye as he slapped the label of “Superhuman” over Lin Jiaxu.

Liar. Total liar.

Lin Jiaxu pouted but didn’t expose him.

The child lowered his head, playing with the flower belonging to Lin Cheng, not really wanting his family to know his non-human identity.

At this point, Zhong Qian sat up straight and shot Zhang Hongyuan a look.

Zhang Hongyuan immediately understood and jumped in. “Ahem, regarding Lin Jiaxu’s ability, his ability is somewhat special, and he doesn't have full control over it yet. We need to take him to the Alien Bureau for some tests.”

“Will there be problems after awakening?” Yu Ruoshu instantly hugged Lin Jiaxu, getting worried.

Zhang Hongyuan plowed ahead with the lie, “Since he has awakened a superhuman ability, his body must have undergone mutations. The hospital can only handle minor mutations from low-level pollution. After awakening, the mutation levels change, that the hospital can’t measure. So, we want to take him to the Alien Bureau for a full examination. If the pollution levels are too high…”

He left the sentence unfinished, but the couple were already imagining the worst-case scenarios in their minds.

Not limited to turning into zombies or rotting monsters no longer recognizable as human... they ran through every scenario from sci-fi apocalyptic movies in their minds, and thinking of those possibilities, they couldn't help but feel worried and anxious.

"Zhong Qian is right. Lin Jiaxu's ability requires practice to learn control, otherwise the power might go out of control and cause him to explode from the inside."

Zhang Hongyuan kept a straight face, silently running through a bunch of reports he had heard from the professors.

"...Based on this, the Alien Bureau has established training bases specifically to help Superhumans control their Superpowers. If the child shows good talent, we will offer them special recruitment into national departments. Lin Jiaxu is still young, so we will focus on training him and also apply for special allowances and corresponding benefits..."

Finally, he said sincerely, "We guarantee that we will not mistreat the child."

Whether they understood or not, he at least managed to sway Xu Kaichang and Yu Ruoshu.

With all these benefits laid out, Yu Ruoshu and the others were completely stunned.

From this alone, Yu Ruoshu could tell they were not joking but were seriously intent on recruiting Lin Jiaxu.

Yu Ruoshu looked down at Lin Jiaxu but couldn't see anything special about him. Still, she smiled and praised, "Our Jiajia is so talented."

Lin Jiaxu remained expressionless, completely unable to feel happy.

Zhong Qian cast an admiring glance at Zhang Hongyuan.

As expected of the captain, this approach was much better than his own hastily made-up story about unified Superhuman training.

"Does Jia Jia have to go? Can't he practice at home? Let's wait until the child is a bit older?"

Yu Ruoshu held Lin Jiaxu tightly.

She didn't care about the special recruitment or anything; her child was still so young, not even ten years old. Even if it were a national team, she wouldn’t be okay with sending him away.

Zhang Hongyuan sighed. "The training base will have professional teams and instructors tailored to each person's Superpower development. I think the child is still young, and the earlier he receives proper guidance, the more beneficial it will be for his growth."

Yu Ruoshu and Xu Kaichang fell silent.

They could actually sense the determination in these people's attitudes. Although they were discussing, they clearly hoped Lin Jiaxu would go with them.

Xu Kaichang began to seriously consider it.

After all, from Zhang Hongyuan's explanation, there didn't seem to be any downside. Moreover, due to his own circumstances, Lin Jiaxu hadn't been attending school, so the training base Zhang Hongyuan mentioned was clearly a better fit for him.

They should be happy for Lin Jiaxu.

Yu Ruoshu was still conflicted. On one hand, their explanation seemed genuinely for the child's benefit; on the other, her own selfishness made her reluctant to let him go. "What exactly is this Alien Bureau?"

Zhang Hongyuan: "The Alien Bureau, also known as the Bureau for Anomalous Affairs, is essentially an officially established agency responsible for handling abnormal events caused by Aliens."

...

After talking for a long time, Xu Kaichang and Yu Ruoshu's expressions softened. During the discussion, they requested to stay in touch with the child daily and the ability to visit him.

Zhang Hongyuan agreed to the first request without hesitation. As for whether Lin Jiaxu could return, he wasn't sure but promised to try his best to ensure Lin Jiaxu had opportunities to come home.

The couple was leaning toward agreement. If what Zhang Hongyuan said was true, Lin Jiaxu going to the training base would be more beneficial than harmful.

But Yu Ruoshu still apologized, "Such a big decision isn't ours to make alone; we need to discuss it with the child's aunt."

After all, although Lin Jiaxu lived with them, his legal registration was actually under the Lin family. They couldn't just hand the child over to others without consulting Lin Yubei.

Guang Yongwang mentally snapped his fingers upon hearing this—this was in the bag.

Zhang Hongyuan smiled, stood up, and said, "Of course. Contact me anytime once you've decided. Here's my number. If you can't reach me, you can also look for Xiao Qian."

"Okay." Relieved that they weren't being forced to decide immediately, the couple relaxed.

Lin Jiaxu had been sitting there stunned.

He couldn't understand why, whenever adults talked, he ended up not being allowed to stay home.

The child was furious and tried to fight back: "I won't—"

Zhong Qian acted quickly, taking advantage of the adults' inattention to pull the child aside, shushing him repeatedly: "Don't make a fuss. Aren't you happy about getting to go somewhere new?"

Lin Jiaxu was no longer the same Lin Jiaxu from a few hours ago. He snorted, "You're lying!"

Zhong Qian clapped like a seal: "Wow, you actually figured it out."

Lin Jiaxu grew angrier; this guy couldn’t even be bothered to lie convincingly.

"I'm not going to that training; I want to stay home."

"No, you have to go."

In just a few hours, Zhong Qian had observed that Lin Jiaxu's feelings for his family were genuine.

And since Lin Jiaxu was actually the child of his friend's family, he wasn't as relaxed as he appeared.

Zhong Qian looked at the Humanoid Alien before him, who even in anger seemed so real, and said casually, "Although this might sound hypocritical, let me warn you first: many people saw your actions tonight. The Bureau won't continue to use the same hands-off approach as before."

Lin Jiaxu stubbornly said, "So what?"

"Nothing much, of course nothing will happen to you. But your family might not continue to live peacefully ordinary lives. Many people will keep an eye on them around the clock—eating, sleeping, even showering." Zhong Qian made it up on the spot. "Also, if you don't obey now, they'll definitely be angry. Would they bully your family then?"

"I can fight back," Lin Jiaxu said defiantly.

Zhong Qian replied, "Not necessarily. There are many ways to bully people, like making it impossible for your family to make a living, their company goes bankrupt, or your siblings can't go to school, etc..."

"More importantly, if your family finds out all these troubles happened because you didn't obey, do you think Uncle and Aunt would be sad and angry?"

Lin Jiaxu's face stiffened. The child asked suspiciously, "Would they really be angry?"

Zhong Qian said without blushing or skipping a beat, "Really. So be obedient and come with us."

Lin Jiaxu didn't speak anymore, but Zhong Qian knew the child cared about his family.

Silence meant compromise.

Zhong Qian mentally cheered.

Thinking to himself, kids are so easy to trick.

He felt not a shred of guilt about tricking the child.

Before the Special Team left, they had Xu Kaichang and Yu Ruoshu sign a confidentiality agreement.

"Please keep the matter of Aliens confidential," Zhang Hongyuan said.

This wasn't a big deal; Xu Kaichang and Yu Ruoshu could understand how much turmoil this would cause the country and people if made public.

So they quickly picked up the documents, checked them, found no issues, and signed their names.

After signing the agreement, Lin Jiaxu and his uncle and aunt returned to the original hospital room.