MCL CH43

Chapter 043: Yan Hangzhou is Clearly Angry…

The testing room.

Compared to the initial curiosity about Lin Xi’s identity, the atmosphere had now completely shifted into one of shock. Since the gossip about Lin Xi began circulating in the registration office, almost all the information people got revolved around Yan Xingzhou. In a short time, the label “Yan Xingzhou’s new kept lover” had been neatly attached to Lin Xi, and everyone treated him as though he were a sparrow who had leapt onto a branch and turned into a phoenix. No one could have imagined that, during the final step of registration, something like this would happen.

And what they didn’t know was that even Lin Xi himself was extremely surprised by the results of the special-class evaluation.

His impression of his own current abilities was that he could at most guarantee a tasty barbecue. Because of this, and because he had suppressed the contamination value inside his body, he was able to come here so calmly to cooperate with Gu Beiqiu for file registration.

From Lin Xi’s perspective, it was better to show up now—before the contamination value went out of control—so that he could dispel Gu Beiqiu’s suspicions as soon as possible. That way, if anything happened in the future, attention wouldn’t return to him so soon. Still, he hadn’t expected a last-minute twist.

[Ahem, actually, this is understandable.]

Amidst the astonishing test results, busy staff members were confirming and re-confirming all around. Hearing the voice in his mind, Lin Xi allowed them to poke and prod, thinking inwardly, “Seems like you already guessed this result.”

[Can’t say I guessed it, I’d almost forgotten about this myself.]

The voice of Calamity was uncharacteristically hesitant, then cleared its throat and said, [Thinking about it now, this actually makes sense. After such a big ‘supplement,’ this is only to be expected.]

“Supplement?”

Lin Xi’s expression froze for a moment. In that instant, memories of last night’s tryst flashed through his mind again. The sensations, even now, seemed fresh; if he thought about it, he could almost recall Yan Xingzhou’s sweat-soaked arms and the locks of hair clinging to his sharply defined neck.

[???]
 

[I was talking to you about the reason for this outcome, not reminding you of how good last night was!!!]

“What does it matter,” Lin Xi replied in his mind. “Same direction, isn’t it?” He glanced at the staff beside him who were double-checking the results and sighed silently.

He really hadn’t anticipated this. As someone new to the pollutants’ world, he’d never considered just how much of a “supplement” Yan Xingzhou really was.

The door to the testing room opened abruptly from the outside. Gu Beiqiu, with his aide, walked in one after another. He exchanged a glance with Lin Xi as a silent greeting, then immediately went to the Administration head in charge of the testing.

Lin Xi slowly emerged from the testing pod. Watching the tense faces all around, he wasn’t the least bit surprised by their reactions.

Special-class.

It wasn’t as rare as a Class X ability, but no matter what, possessing a special-class ability meant he was already among the top-tier of all ability users. Currently, aside from a few who had refused promotions for personal reasons, all special-class ability users in the country held executive positions—for instance, Executive Officer Gu Beiqiu was a dual-ability user at the special-class level. And even within the United Twelve Administrations, there were a few chiefs who had not yet reached special-class strength.

As the frequency of pollutant attacks on Earth increased, so did the number of awakened ability users. But in Lin Xi’s day, new special-class users had already become rare. He didn’t know much about awakenings in the past three years, but from the reactions of those present, he expected the numbers hadn’t improved.

Class X users were hard to come by, and before anyone knew when the next awakening would occur, special-class users were burdened with the hopes of humanity. The most direct reflection of this was the array of generous incentives and subsidies offered by the government, all in hopes that these powerful ability users would become the nation’s strongest support.

Thinking this, Lin Xi slowly blinked. “Guess I’ll have the means to buy you crystal cores in the future, will I?”

In his mind: [Huh?]

Lin Xi’s mood lifted a little at having some extra money. He was about to patiently answer when he heard footsteps approaching and turned to see: “Executive Officer.”

It was clear that Gu Beiqiu had rushed over immediately after receiving the news—his uniform for the United Administration was slightly disheveled. After checking the results with the staff, Gu Beiqiu’s gaze was filled with a complicated emotion. After a brief silence, he said something almost meaningless: “Mr. Lin, as you’ve just heard, your ability rating is officially confirmed as special-class.”

Having worked with Gu Beiqiu for so many years, Lin Xi rarely saw this kind of expression on his face and found it somewhat amusing. “Yes, it is.”

The completely calm response made Gu Beiqiu fall silent once more. After a moment, he continued, “I’ve already instructed people to temporarily block the news. I’ll have the 11th Administration arrange a suitable procedure for announcing the awakening of a new special-class user. In the meantime, we’ll register your personal information as a Class A secret. According to the current Ability User Agreement, all social welfare for special-class ability users will be arranged within three days. You can check the official information platform for specific progress.”

Lin Xi nodded again, and with great effort suppressed a smile at Gu Beiqiu’s lingering hesitance.

Gu Beiqiu took another look at Lin Xi. “Did you know you had a special-class ability beforehand?”

“So he asked, after all,” Lin Xi thought. Meeting Gu Beiqiu’s gaze, he smiled sincerely and countered, “If I told you I thought my ability was probably only a level seven, at best a level six—would you believe me?”

Abilities were classified into eight levels, ascending by strength, with level seven at the very bottom. Gu Beiqiu’s expression answered him: disbelief. “You really thought so? From the moment you awakened your ability, have you never had your strength rated?”

“Of course I have—otherwise, how would my file be in the system? Even though there was that silly mistake about my age, the rest of my information is clear, isn’t it? Especially the column for ability rating—there’s a big fat ‘seven’ right there. To suddenly jump to special-class really is a surprise.”

Gu Beiqiu: “…”

No one had said anything directly, but both Yan Xingzhou and the United Administration knew the truth—this wasn’t a registration error. The file was a complete fabrication from the start! Seeing Lin Xi brazen and unashamed about lying right to his face, Gu Beiqiu was momentarily speechless at such cheek. Just as he was about to say more, Lin Xi cut him off.

Anticipating his thoughts, Lin Xi stared directly at him, his heterochromatic eyes gentle as water. “Executive Officer, if I were you, I’d focus not on idle curiosity, but on the transaction we’ve already agreed upon. Whether I’m a level seven or special-class, my status remains the same: I am a law-abiding, patriotic citizen of the country. Wouldn’t you say so?”

Gu Beiqiu stared back at Lin Xi, and the air seemed to freeze around them.

The aide beside him slightly furrowed his brow—he hadn’t seen anyone dare to “threaten” the Executive Officer so boldly in a long time, not since Yan Xingzhou. Even then, Mr. Lin’s confidence was a bit too brazen.

As the oppressive atmosphere thickened, the surrounding staff instinctively paused in their tasks.

Just as the air was about to freeze completely, a knock on the door shattered the stillness. A voice came from outside:

“Is Mr. Lin in there? The CEO wants to know when you’ll be back.”

Lin Xi blinked slowly. “He’s so clingy, isn’t he?” Raising his gaze to Gu Beiqiu, he asked mildly, “Wouldn’t you say, Executive Officer?”

“Quite,” Gu Beiqiu responded, his calm demeanor restored. He motioned to his aide, took a document from him, and handed it to Lin Xi. “On behalf of the United Administration of our country, I congratulate you on your achievement. Our Aide Su will follow up on the matters we just discussed.”

“Thank you,” Lin Xi responded, accepting the document without opening it, as if he’d suddenly remembered something. “Oh, and—special-class ability users are pretty rare, right?”

“Indeed,” replied Gu Beiqiu, unsure why the question was suddenly raised.

Lin Xi gave a mild smile. “So, if I were to apply for a government job now, I’d get a lot of extra points for this, wouldn’t I?”

Gu Beiqiu paused, then cautiously asked, “Mr. Lin, are you considering joining the United Administration?”

“Not exactly,” Lin Xi replied as if unaware of the deeper meaning behind Gu Beiqiu’s tone. “I’m just a Chinese ability user. I’ll go wherever the country needs me—it’s not about the position, but about how to serve with my full strength. Wouldn’t you agree, Executive Officer?”

“…Very well said,” Gu Beiqiu responded after a beat. “If every ability user had your sense of responsibility, our Administration’s work would be much easier.” He cleared his throat. “That said, special-class ability users do have their own recruitment channel. This can be settled after the formalities of the public announcement.”

“Then I’ll trouble you all.”

Lin Xi’s expression turned mildly helpless as the assistant knocked again outside the door. “Are there any other matters? If not, I’ll take my leave.”

Gu Beiqiu nodded and signaled for his aide to see Lin Xi out downstairs.

Lin Xi headed back to the parking lot with the assistant, and only when the car started moving did he finally allow his faint smile to fade.

The assistant, looking at him in the rearview mirror, hesitated before asking, “Is it true—what I heard just now, about you wanting to join the United Administration?”

Lin Xi leaned back into a more comfortable position. “Whether I’m serious or not, I just feel it would be a real honor to be able to join the United Administration.”

At this, he suddenly recalled something. “Oh, Assistant Ju.”

“Yes?”

Lin Xi met the assistant’s gaze in the rearview mirror. “If possible, could you please keep this matter from Mr. Yan for the time being?”

The assistant was silent for a moment. “I’m afraid I can’t help you with that, Mr. Lin.”

Lin Xi coughed. “It’s true, asking you to hide something from your principal is quite unreasonable. But still…”

“Mr. Yan already knows.”

Lin Xi’s words faltered, and after a pause he couldn’t help but laugh. “Your efficiency truly matches Mr. Yan Xingzhou’s standards, doesn’t it?”

The assistant was surprised that Lin Xi called Yan Xingzhou by his full name so casually, but he merely maintained his professional tone. “Before we set out, Mr. Yan’s instructions were to relay all information to him immediately.” He hesitated, then added, “When he learned about your conversation with Mr. Gu, he was silent for a full thirty seconds.”

Lin Xi’s smile froze, and he realized what that meant.

Thirty seconds of silence?

He quickly heard the assistant continue: “Based on my years by Mr. Yan’s side, if he takes more than fifteen seconds to respond to a message—“

Lin Xi: “.”

He didn’t even need to hear the rest.

“—the overwhelming probability is that he is displeased with its content.”

Lin Xi silently pressed his fingers to his temple.

It was more than just displeasure. He could practically picture the expression on the man’s face during those thirty seconds, sitting at his desk—stiff, silent, simmering.

Yan Xingzhou was clearly, unmistakably, angry.