Once his thoughts were sorted out, Lu Zhao put away his documents and threw himself back into his daily routine, rather than frantically pondering how to make a gesture of allegiance to the Lin family.
Certain things could not be rushed. The more eager one was to curry favor, the easier it was to stumble. Besides, Lin Zhiyan had not even stated her demands; how could he be certain she truly needed him?
After work that evening, Lu Zhao invited Zhang Like out once again to the roadside food stall.
After stuffing themselves and finishing several rounds of drinks, Zhang Like was the first to indulge in gossip. "How did it feel today?"
Lu Zhao countered, "How did what feel?"
"Playing dumb again! Word has spread all through the station that Team Leader Lin personally asked you to ride in her car."
Zhang Like winked and nudged him. "Come on, stop being stubborn. You need to seriously think about whether this could work out. That's the Lin family of Cangwu! If you latch onto them, Lü Jinshan won't even matter anymore."
Lu Zhao wiped his mouth with a napkin and asked in return, "Have you ever seen two psychic superhumans get married?"
"Uh..."
Zhang Like thought about it carefully, and realized he really hadn't.
Or rather, psychic superhumans were far too rare—only a few thousand across the entire Federation. In his decades of life, Lu Zhao was the only one he had ever met.
There had always been rumors that psychic superhumans could all read minds, making it essentially impossible for them to be together.
Yet Lu Zhao clearly didn't seem capable of reading minds.
"Why is that?"
Lu Zhao explained, "When powerful psychic power leaks out, it affects both sides to varying degrees. It's like two magnets—they might stick together, or they might repel each other."
Zhang Like said, "Wouldn't sticking together make it even easier to hit it off?"
"Mutual repulsion can still be held in check with willpower, but if they stick together, their consciousnesses blend together like mud."
Lu Zhao brought his hands together, interlacing his fingers tightly.
"When two people's consciousnesses tangle into one, the final result is a complete mental breakdown."
Zhang Like's eyes widened slightly. "That severe?"
"That's an extreme case. Usually, people part ways on their own as soon as memory confusion sets in."
Lu Zhao spread his hands. "Team Leader Lin and I fall under the repelling kind."
In truth, it was more about the scarcity of psychic superhumans, coupled with everyone being quite proud.
Looking thoughtful, Zhang Like wore an expression of regret. "What a pity. If we could latch onto Team Leader Lin, things would be so much easier for us."
"We could, but it's very dangerous."
Lu Zhao recounted everything that had happened that day. At first, Zhang Like had casually questioned Lu Zhao's theory that psychic superhumans couldn't marry, but by the end of the story, he had fallen completely silent.
He pulled out a cigarette, took a few deep puffs of smoke, and said, "Has the clash between the big figures grown so fierce that it's reached down to the grassroots?"
Ever since the ten-year War of National Defense ended, peace had effectively vanished from society; nowhere under heaven was truly stable.
From street gangs at the bottom to the Circuit Politics Bureaus of the Martial Marquises at the top, fierce confrontations were taking place every second.
Zhang Like had originally thought everyone was just keeping the struggle within manageable bounds, but now, in the blink of an eye, he seemed to find himself caught right in the middle of a struggle between Martial Marquises—and its intensity had penetrated all the way to the grassroots.
This was an alarming signal. When high-level struggles began to require support from the bottom, it marked the beginning of a hot war.
"Old Lu, I advise you not to get mixed up in this. Your life-force development has been moving so quickly; didn't you say you're transferring to the Chishui Army in Zhongnan Circuit next year?"
"..."
Lu Zhao fell silent for a moment before saying, "That was indeed my plan. But once I get there, clawing my way to the top would probably take a decade or more."
Connections were needed everywhere, even in the military.
His earlier intention was merely that, compared to being suppressed by the Chen family in Nanhai Circuit, Zhongnan Circuit would offer a fairer environment.
Lu Zhao had constantly been pondering: was fairness all he needed?
The Federation was never short of geniuses. Every year, thousands graduated from the two great academies of Chishui and Dijing, with tens of thousands more from the slightly lesser institutions.
If he joined the Chishui Army, even if everything went smoothly, it would likely take twenty to thirty years just to make general.
That was too slow.
Lu Zhao could already sense regional powers expanding day by day, reaching a point almost reminiscent of the military commissioners of the late Tang dynasty. That was not a good sign.
Moreover, Lin Zhiyan's words today had sparked an unsettling suspicion in his mind.
The Federation might very well fall apart before he could ever claw his way to the top.
*But can I trust Lin Zhiyan?*
Lu Zhao knew that impatience in small matters ruins great plans. Rushing in blindly would only turn him into someone else's pawn.
He nodded. "I will be careful."
*Ring, ring, ring.*
His phone rang. It was an unfamiliar number.
Upon answering, a familiar voice came through.
"Staff Officer Lu, the operation begins tomorrow. 0800 hours at the Fangshi Special Response Unit station. Major Xu Zhenhua will be operating alongside you."
"Understood."
Lu Zhao acknowledged, then added, "I don't believe I gave you my phone number."
Official desk numbers for public personnel were on file, but this was his private phone.
For Lin Zhiyan to get her hands on it, she likely had to contact the telecommunications provider.
"Did you need to?"
The voice on the other end sounded completely matter-of-fact. "It's all for work purposes. Senior Lu, don't be so petty."
-----
June 18th.
Having received orders from the special investigation team, Lu Zhao went straight to logistics to requisition a military truck, selecting ten first-rank superhumans from various companies to form a temporary squad before heading into Fangshi.
Among them was Liao Lang from the Duty Company.
Along the way, the scenery shifted from mountain forests into high-rises with white walls and blue glass windows. The surrounding sounds changed from birdsong and insect chirps into the steady chime of bicycle bells.
He happened to arrive during the morning rush hour. Citizens pedaling heavy roadster bicycles packed the streets like swarms of worker ants.
As the military truck waited at a red light, Liao Lang sat behind the wheel and remarked with a sigh, "In the past, everyone drove cars. Nowadays, it feels like life is moving backward."
Sitting in the passenger seat, Lu Zhao said, "We should be glad just to be alive. Who knows how many more years of peace we'll even have."
In his memory, a decade ago everyone drove cars, and every family could afford one.
After the Cataclysm, many people sold their cars and switched to more economical bicycles.
On the one hand, this was due to economic decline and waves of layoffs; on the other, the dwindling of oil and gas reserves had driven gasoline prices sky-high.
Now, 95-octane gasoline had reached twenty yuan per liter, while the minimum wage was only two thousand yuan—and in today's society, the minimum wage was often the actual wage.
Lu Zhao didn't have to pay out of pocket since he worked for the state, but ordinary people simply couldn't afford it.
Bicycles had become the most cost-effective means of travel.
Nowadays, people only needed to commute between three points: the factory district, school, and home.
Many lived entirely within large factory districts that housed their own schools, hospitals, commercial streets, and more, allowing them to meet all their daily needs without ever stepping outside the gates.
The Hua people had voiced dissatisfaction over this, but it had never escalated into real unrest. Happiness came from comparison. Whenever public outrage began to boil over, massive food shortages would conveniently strike the Foreign District.
A Hua citizen earning two thousand yuan a month would quickly find peace of mind upon seeing denizens of the Foreign District starving with their bellies clinging to their spines.
*At least I'm still human. At least I can still enjoy a peaceful life.*
In this era, no one lived a happy and fulfilled life; it was only a matter of whose suffering was greater.
The Cataclysm had never truly ended. Civilization had long receded, and humanity was still fumbling in the dark, searching for a path toward its revival.
Chapter 53