The night was very dark, but the bedroom was brightly lit.
Chu Ran sat on the bed, leaning against the wall, staring out at the pitch-black night sky. "Do I look like Tang Seng's flesh? Everyone wants a bite."
In the corner lay the fragments of the robot butler.
Chu Ran tapped open her Light Brain and selected a piece from a stack of military anthems. The grand, stirring melody filled the room, contrasting eerily with the silent night outside.
"It's not the God Summoning Society," Chu Ran analyzed slowly, crossing her hands and stroking them as she listened to the music. "If they came looking for me just because we met today, that would be way too impatient.
"Destroying the original's Spiritual Power without the Chu Family finding out, and even going years without a single abnormality during check-ups—caution is the God Summoning Society's style.
"Those siblings might not be the God Summoning Society's plants either," Chu Ran murmured, closing her eyes as the symphony grew more impassioned. "Their abnormality is too obvious. How could the military not notice?
"Maybe the siblings are just bait. Are they trying to hook me? No, I'm not enough. At least not now.
"Does the military know that the siblings and I would cross paths?
"They don't mind this situation. The experiment failed, but that doesn't mean I'm not worth watching."
The battle symphony entered its final movement; the passionate strings faded into a low, heavy drumbeat that blended with the night.
"Right now, at least three factions are watching me: the government, the God Summoning Society, and whoever invaded tonight."
As the last note ended, Chu Ran yawned, weary. "Really, they just won't let me have peace."
It seemed they didn't want her to know about their attention, but they didn't go completely unnoticed. They didn't want her to notice anything unusual, yet they felt that even if she did, she'd be powerless.
She was a pawn unable to control her own fate.
Chu Ran lowered her gaze and was silent for a long while. Then she turned off the light, slipped under the covers, and fell asleep.
The next morning, she woke up as if nothing had happened. She fished out a low-grade nutrient supplement from the corner, choked it down—its awful taste helped her wake up.
Today, she had an appointment at a training hall. With the competition approaching, she needed to sharpen her skills.
Chu Ran pulled a sealed training suit from the cabinet and was about to toss it into the washer when her Light Brain pinged.
She opened it. It was a message from Dr. Sun.
"How have you been feeling lately? Want to come back to the hospital for another check-up? The Third Training Institute seems to be recruiting a few more trainees. I was thinking if your test results are decent, you could give it a try."
Chu Ran stared at the message. The air was deathly still.
A faint smile curved her lips. What timely news.
She glanced at the training suit in her hand and tossed it into the cleaning machine. It had been a while since she'd seen Dr. Sun—time to catch up and build some rapport.
Chu Ran picked out half of the sweet melons placed on the cabinet to take as a gift.
Aunt Wang and the others were sitting in the restaurant downstairs as usual, chatting and drinking.
"Headed out?" Aunt Wang greeted her when she saw her.
"Yeah, going to visit a friend." Chu Ran stopped and glanced at the three or four empty bottles at Aunt Wang's feet. "It's early morning. Don't drink too much, or one day I'll really have to visit you in the hospital."
"Hahaha, Wang Cuihua, did you hear that? Little Ran is telling you to drink less!" the old man laughed.
Aunt Huang shot Chu Ran a look. "Come back early. I checked the calendar today—it says you're likely to run into unclean people."
Aunt Wang downed her drink in one gulp and said with exasperation, "Little Ran, don't let that rascal Wang Ping'an fool you. I'm second to none when it comes to health! Back in the day, I never met my match!"
"Pfft, Wang Cuihua, you've got some nerve saying that. Never met your match? Forget me, even Huang Ni back then was better than you," the old man retorted.
"Why do you always have to undercut me? I said health, health!" Aunt Wang rolled her eyes at him. "Alright, Little Ran, you'd better get going. I'm definitely not going to drink myself into the hospital."
Chu Ran sighed. What the younger generation dreaded most were stubborn elders like this.
She didn't argue further and walked out of Old Street with the sweet melons.
After learning her name, Aunt Wang and the others hadn't changed at all. They treated her the same as before.
Once, when she sat beside Aunt Wang listening to gossip while browsing StarNet, she happened to see news of her nominal uncle repelling the latest Zerg Beast invasion.
"You'll be even better than him," Aunt Huang suddenly said, glancing at her amid the idle chatter.
Chu Ran's heart skipped a beat. Then she grinned and leaned in. "You have that much faith in me?"
"In all my life, I've never seen anyone have bad luck forever." Aunt Huang's hand shot out and snatched the bottle Aunt Wang was trying to sneak away, saying calmly.
"Do you know who I am?"
Aunt Huang glanced at her again but said nothing.
Caught red-handed, Aunt Wang wasn't discouraged. She grabbed another bottle from the old man, drank a swig, and laughed. "You little girl, how could you forget your own name?"
Hearing that, Chu Ran didn't know whether she felt relieved or disappointed.
They wanted to take care of Chu Ran, but not the Chu Ran.
Chu Ran stopped reminiscing and stood there waiting for a moment. Only after hearing Aunt Wang's loud voice coming from Old Street behind her did she get into the hovercar that had been waiting nearby.
The hovercar drove to Anxin Hospital, only to encounter a long traffic jam ahead.
The hovercar's system cautiously announced, "Dear customer, the estimated delay is twenty minutes. Would you like to wait in the vehicle?"
Wait?
The hospital gate was just a hundred meters away, and I'm supposed to wait twenty minutes?
Speechless, Chu Ran got out of the car.
As soon as she stepped out, she saw a vehicle zoom past through the special lane above.
Holding the melons, Chu Ran strode quickly toward the entrance. What had happened to cause such a long jam?
Two instructors in military uniform stood at the hospital entrance, facing seven or eight middle-aged men and women who looked furious.
"I'm telling you, after what happened to my son, that lowlife better not think about leaving this hospital alive!"
"That's right! My nephew has never been treated like this since he was a child!"
"Do you know who I am?!"
"I'm a niece of Old Master Chu! If you don't give me an explanation today, I'll have the Chu Family set things straight!"
One of the instructors impatiently dug at his ear. "Can't you say something new?"
The other gave a forced smile, grinding his teeth. "This niece of Old Master Chu, I've already told you exactly what happened. Your son pushed someone to the brink and ended up getting killed in self-defense. Please control your emotions."
"You've already been kicked out of the hospital for obstructing medical treatment. Don't make me have you thrown another hundred meters away from the gate, okay?"
"Now move your hovercars out of the way!"
Author's Note: None