Chapter 12 He’s Special

Chapter 12: He's Special

"You turned down the research institute, right? All your expenses during this time are covered by your guardian, but once you're an adult, you'll have to pay for everything yourself."

He checked his assets. Perfect, it's zero.

"No other payment methods?"

"Indentured servitude."

Then he'd better just get a regular job.

"The medical functions of this system you're connected to must use a lot of resources, right? And there are regular check-ups. Don't worry about that; Ding Shu handles those. However, routine check-ups obviously aren't enough for you. You'd need to go to Hengmai for the detailed, high-end ones. One comprehensive examination costs as much as my half-year-end bonus."

"Realistically speaking, the salary from the Ministry of Defense is just enough for you to barely scrape by on."

"Operations, reconnaissance, patrol duty. Which one do you think suits you?"

Listening to each option, they all sounded like places that could max out a medical insurance card. Chen Jiyan was self-aware.

"But they have high physical requirements over there. You're better off honestly learning a trade, getting into a research institute, or working for the system to earn money faster."

"Work for the system?"

"Not really sure. It's those things, like coding, updating versions, fixing bugs, and so on. From what I overhear, it's all pretty much the same."

The world still favors science students so much.

Back when he took the college entrance exam, there was still a division between arts and sciences. Following the stereotype, he went with the flow and chose STEM. For university, he applied for majors like artificial intelligence and computer science, but he got placed into economics, and ended up in a pink-collar job after graduation.

Living in that neither-arts-nor-sciences limbo made job hunting particularly difficult. All recruitment software pretty much told him sales was the only option.

Luckily, he managed to land a job interfacing between business and technical departments, also doubling as the finance guy, catching flak from all three sides. Who would've thought that a few hundred years later, society would be even more extreme, completely cutting off any path for liberal arts students.

A century has passed, and human life is still just as tough.

"Minister Si, you seem to know a lot about this. Do you often help people with career planning?" Otherwise, how do you know the military side so well?

An unexpected question. Si Min was taken aback, withdrew his fake smile, and said offhandedly, "It's nothing. I had a kid at home once. Anyway, moving on."

Ding Shu isn't just the pinnacle of human tech; it's also the political and economic hub. According to system data, 56.7% of the population lives in the main city. Ding Shu is where everyone works.

Along with water and electricity, there's a third resource that maintains the operation of the entire Ding Shu system: Crystal Source.

"Everyone who works in Ding Shu, in addition to their normal salary, is allocated a certain proportion of Crystal Source based on their contribution. You need it for daily travel; it's what powers those flying cars."

It operates like its own country, not exactly on equal footing with other cities. Except for certain major decisions, different areas govern themselves. However, one universally recognized principle remains unbreakable: all Crystal Source, talent, and resources are sent to Ding Shu for redistribution.

Yes, it's You Jinhui's department that handles the allocation, and he is also the Chief Executive of this term.

The previous one was his mother, You Ting.

There's a nepotism rule for executive appointments. Everyone was waiting for Ms. You to step down to make way for her son.

You Jinhui's resume was excellent, he himself was outstanding, and the election results were impressive. No surprises there.

However, his mother used a veto to refuse to step down.

Mother and son locked in conflict, family discord—speculation ran wild, rumors and gossip were rampant.

The remaining few stood by, wanting to see how this drama would end.

Unfortunately, it didn't go as they wished. You Jinhui settled for the next best option, choosing another position: Secretary to the Finance Minister.

At the time, everyone thought it was a pity. Many citizens even cursed You Ting for being ambitious and not knowing when to yield to a worthy successor.

However, when the Finance Minister was assassinated, You Jinhui became the undisputed successor, logically taking over the allocation of resources in the Ding Shu central district.

That same year, You Ting stepped down. The military department was taken over by her student, and after her own retirement, she was specially appointed as a member of the parliament.

The masses began to speculate again, thinking it was a mother-son alliance, wanting to do as they pleased in Ding Shu.

But no abuse of power for personal gain occurred, so everyone praised the deep mother-son bond, saying Ding Shu's future was bright.

At least on the surface, You Jinhui did not seek improper benefits for himself, and his political views often clashed with his mother's. Whether they still had private dealings was unknown.

It's just that on the day he took office, You Ting did not attend in person, only sending a guard to deliver a flower basket as congratulations. In the public eye, the two had not truly reconciled.

Regardless, the parliament only has decision-making power, not executive power. At least for now, in Ding Shu, You Jinhui is highly influential, holds great power, stands at the forefront, and bears the brunt.

In principle, the leaders of the four departments under the parliament can all be called executives, with only one chief. However, after You Jinhui came to power, "the Executive" became a title exclusive to him. Whenever "the Executive" is mentioned, even people outside Ding Shu know who it refers to.

Judging by appearances, this powerful connection seems quite reliable. As the person under supervision, Chen Jiyan expressed relative satisfaction.

"I'm a bit curious, why did you go into finance instead of the military?"

His original military service record was already brilliant, and with his family background, why choose a different path starting as a secretary? Anything involving resource allocation is a tangled mess, hard to sort out, and easily offends people. Moreover, the previous few chiefs were from the military, which was an easier path to advancement.

"I'm used to being alone, don't have the habit of cultivating old subordinates. It was boring staying there."

Sure enough, such elites are tough on themselves. Not wanting to be called a second-generation, he started from scratch in a different field.

Chen Jiyan was already shocked by the plot twists he imagined in his head, deepening his stereotype of You Jinhui another layer.

"Since fairness cannot be achieved, then at least allocate according to my will."

"Hmm, so you're the richest military officer and the most capable fighter among finance officials."

"Otherwise, why would they willingly let me be the Chief?"

Previously, the Chief had always been from the military, occasionally falling to the Department of Justice.

A one-size-fits-all approach, though simple and crude, was indeed effective. During You Jinhui's tenure, government credibility significantly improved. All sources and destinations of Crystal Source were transparent and publicly disclosed. Outside Ding Shu, no one is constrained.

"Let's talk about you. What do you want to do afterwards?"

He knew the Executive was fulfilling his guardian's duty, having someone explain things to him, and now personally asking his wishes. If he had such conditions back when choosing his major after the college entrance exam, he would have been very grateful.

Unfortunately, he's not 18.

What do you want to do in the future? Any concrete plans? What will you contribute to society? What kind of person do you want to become?

No answers. Perhaps this world won't wait for him to have answers before suddenly being destroyed.

Can't see the future, what's the point of planning?

"Don't know. Talk about it when I'm an adult."

Given the fragility of this body and the stability of this society, he might not even make it to his 25th birthday, the legal age of adulthood.

Chen Jiyan lay down without a second thought.

"You know my situation—every day I live is a stolen day. Clear goals, distant dreams—those are things for big shots like you to consider."

He noticed You Jinhui was watching him with a heavy, inscrutable gaze.

It looked less like disappointment than pity, mixed with something else.

For the past twenty-plus years, he had feared that kind of disappointment—the fear of letting others down, and even more unbearable, looks of pity and sympathy.

As if his miserable future was laid out plain as day.

But now, it didn’t matter. This wasn’t his world, and Chen Jiyan hadn't asked to be here.

"You might not know what *Ding Shu*—or humanity—needs."

"As your guardian, I’ve been remiss in my duty. I believe you should also understand this."

"Rather than an irreplaceable, special individual, it needs a screw that can be swapped out anytime, one whose breaking wouldn’t halt the whole machine."

"Chen Jiyan, you are special."

"Isn’t the Chief Executive the same?" he retorted almost without thinking.

"If my death were announced tonight," You Jinhui went on, "the work of the Finance Bureau would proceed as usual tomorrow. A new minister would be appointed before 12 o’clock, and before his inauguration speech, he would be required to read my eulogy. A new Chief would be selected within three days, and along with the appointment announcement, my obituary would be publicized throughout Ding Shu."

"An exception for the Chief?"

"That's how it is for everyone in Ding Shu. Death means a reduction in the human population, but the collective will still drives society forward."

"Pretty ritualistic," Chen Jiyan muttered softly. "Don’t worry, every Qingming Festival and on the anniversary of your death, I’ll definitely pay my respects at your grave."

He had no intention of delving deeper into the topic, as his body was already uncontrollably succumbing to sleep.

You Jinhui was really busy. Apart from that day, Chen Jiyan hardly saw another soul in the house.

He thought he hadn’t taken what he'd said before leaving to heart, but when idle, his mind would wander to unanswerable philosophical questions.

In the past, even if such thoughts occasionally surfaced, they were immediately scared back by reality. All idle complaints could be summed up as "just work for two days and you’ll settle down."

He avoided thinking about overly grand, highly improbable things, but the small details of his past life kept forcing their way into his thoughts.

He would wake up at seven every morning but drag it out for another five minutes. Ten minutes was too long because he’d miss the subway that got him there on time.

He wasn’t used to the calendar here, so he made his own version and hung it above the mirror.

"Chen Jiyan," he said to himself in the mirror, "remember, you’re from the last century. It’s normal, natural, and right that you don’t fit in here."

"You are special."

Right, of course he was special.

Rather than not fitting in, it was more that he didn’t want to adapt.

To become a qualified citizen of Ding Shu, to become a cog in the vast machine of the future—a screw that would be replaced immediately if damaged.

No thinking, no worries, no pain.

He was afraid of forgetting everything he had experienced in the 21st century. What did he want to do? He just wanted to go back.

When people are lost, they naturally look to someone stronger to follow or admire. So far, among all the people Chen Jiyan had met, the most powerful and unconventional was You Jinhui.

"Retrieve records of You Jinhui before he became Chief Executive."

"Data sources include publicly disclosed articles and reports from the military. Only some video records and medals of honor from his military service period meet the screening criteria."

"Service?" The keyword was retrieved.

Chen Jiyan focused intently, sitting at the dining table and reviewing material for over an hour without even realizing it.

The camera transmitted the footage to the Chief Executive’s personal terminal. You Jinhui took a look to unwind after his work, only to be interrupted by an annoying new message within two seconds.

"He won’t submit a service application for now. If there are any issues, have Su Huaixin talk to me personally."