“It will become your most powerful assistant on the battlefield.”
Su Cha was admiring the vibrant Overlord Flower and replied a bit helplessly, “Right now, I can only prepare more poison packs. Otherwise, running around with a flowerpot is way too conspicuous. Plus, the fragrance makes it easy for others to locate me.”
Ji Tianjin looked at him for a moment, then had Su Cha bring the Overlord Flower and follow him downstairs. Ji Tianjin himself carried another pot of Tiger pelt grass.
Five minutes later, Su Cha stood in front of the management office, completely confused.
Ji Tianjin said calmly, “Reporting to the instructor, I’m requesting permission to take Su Cha out for a walk.”
Li Huai was already irritated—he disliked dealing with tedious tasks and was currently re-verifying the submitted team rosters one by one. Thinking he’d misheard, he looked up. “What did you say?”
Ji Tianjin repeated what he just said.
Li Huai wondered if he had been too lenient lately, to the point where these freshmen now dared to openly challenge authority with absurd requests. Just as he was about to explode, Ji Tianjin told Su Cha to repeat what he’d said earlier.
“Hmm?” Su Cha was stunned for a moment. He recalled their last conversation before heading downstairs and summarized, “I said I need to prepare more poison packs. Otherwise, carrying a flowerpot around makes it inconvenient to fight.”
Swallowing back the lecture he was about to deliver, Li Huai paused briefly, then decisively issued them a pass—and generously gave them over six hours.
“At least two streets. That’s an order.”
Ji Tianjin: “Yes, sir.”
Su Cha: “…”
The unspoken message might as well have been, Get this kid out and let him see the world already.
Su Cha looked at Ji Tianjin. “We’re not going to find teammates?”
Ji Tianjin waved it off, indicating not to worry.
The last time Su Cha left the school was when Yise came. After the guard checked and stamped the pass, Su Cha took it and glanced around nervously, feeling as if something was following him.
“That’s Instructor Li’s spirit form,” Ji Tianjin explained, having noticed his confusion. “It’s for safety.”
Plenty of eyes were secretly watching Su Cha—leaving the school meant they had to be extra cautious.
How far a spirit form could travel depended on the user’s spiritual strength. Someone like Li Huai, with 3S-level spiritual power, could go anywhere in the Imperial Capital, or even to wastelands.
On the roadside, Ji Tianjin bought a baseball cap and had Su Cha wear it. The hover car could take them straight to the bustling city center. Paying five times the price also got them a private room with a soft recliner. One ticket could also include a free companion.
Ji Tianjin spared no expense. For a trip that barely took over thirty minutes, he bought a private compartment.
Hover cars were fast. Although the affiliated high school wasn’t that remote, the vastness and prosperity of the Imperial Capital were still astonishing.
Scenes outside the window flew by in a blur. When they entered the shopping center, Su Cha finally saw just the tip of the iceberg of the Galan Empire’s opulence.
With Ji Tianjin’s spiritual power shielding them, the flower in Su Cha’s hands didn’t trigger any detectors. The mall’s aisles were wide, and the items on open display weren’t as abundant as those in the school’s underground supermarket.
But in the next moment, Su Cha saw a saleswoman cheerfully pull out something the size of a silver coin. She pressed a button, and instantly, a three-to-four-meter flying device floated mid-air.
“This is the latest model, Wing D-3469. We’re offering a 20% discount right now.”
Customer: “I want to see the cockpit.”
The saleswoman pressed another button, and the craft immediately doubled in size.
The smart robots Su Cha had seen at the hospital didn’t even begin to represent the Empire’s true technological prowess—especially not in spatial applications.
As they walked further, he involuntarily stopped in front of the spaceship section.
Warships were military-exclusive and off-limits to civilians. But if one wanted to travel the stars, they could buy a spaceship—though even the cheapest cost billions. If Su Cha ever wanted to return to his original world and take revenge, he’d need to buy one of these.
He reluctantly looked away and followed Ji Tianjin to a place called the Space Compression Station.
Just like modern places that vacuum-pack food, here you could pay a fee and shrink even the largest objects to the size of a fingernail.
Seeing customers arrive, a staff member came over with a smile. “What would you like to pack?”
“Two potted plants,” Su Cha placed them on the counter. “This one’s poisonous.”
Ji Tianjin put down the other pot and added, “This one’s aphrodisiac.”
Su Cha clarified, “For strange beasts.”
The staff member forced a smile and began weighing. “Five hundred star coins.”
Su Cha didn’t even have a single cent on him.
Ji Tianjin paid for him. Su Cha promised, “I’ll pay you back before the end of next month.”
“No need. We’re on the same team.”
The clerk pulled out several designs for them to choose from.
There were all kinds, and custom designs were available for an extra fee. Su Cha pointed at one with a floral pattern.
Ji Tianjin added, “Make one into a pendant, the other into a ring.”
That would make them easier to carry.
It would take about ten minutes. During that time, Su Cha read the notice on the signboard: inanimate objects had no weight limit, but the current technology for living organisms only supported plants and small white mice.
“All done.”
The shop attendant came out from the back room. Su Cha tested the results—absolutely perfect. He hadn’t known such a convenient thing existed.
Since they were out anyway, they wandered through many more places. Su Cha gradually gained a clearer understanding of this world. As they were leaving the mall, a shadow flashed past in front of them—a man was sprinting at a speed far beyond normal human limits.
However, in less than five seconds, he was intercepted and violently pinned to the ground.
With a gun barrel pressed against his head, Su Cha watched as the man was cuffed and taken away. “Did he break the law?”
“An illegal immigrant,” Ji Tianjin glanced at the uniforms of the arresting officers. “They’re from the Investigation Bureau. Immigration falls under their jurisdiction.”
In today’s high-tech world, appearances and body types could be easily altered, making them unreliable. That’s why every citizen had a personal ID code—implanted as a specialized chip at birth. Even if extracted, the chip couldn’t be reused.
“What happens to illegal immigrants when they’re caught?”
Ji Tianjin replied, “They’re all sent to the wastelands and left to fend for themselves.”
The universe was vast and boundless. Traveling between planets could sometimes take years. Not pursuing accountability was already the limit of mercy—no empire would waste money to send illegal immigrants back home.
Su Cha’s throat tightened. Once again, he confirmed his earlier thought:
He needed to find a way to buy a spaceship—just in case.
Ji Tianjin had only explained casually. In truth, some illegal immigrants had special circumstances: either they brought with them technology or resources to offer, or they were Awakeners with mystic-type powers. As long as they could prove useful to the empire, they’d be given a chance.
As per Li Huai’s orders, Ji Tianjin took Su Cha around two full streets. When they got back into the hover car, Su Cha coughed lightly and said, “I don’t have a citizen ID yet.”
“Citizen IDs are managed by the Investigation Bureau,” Ji Tianjin explained. “If you apply individually, you’ll have to go through their whole process. You wouldn’t enjoy dealing with them.”
Because of what happened when he first arrived, Su Cha didn’t have a great impression of the Investigation Bureau.
“The blood sample you gave at the hospital has already been stored in the system to prevent future identity fraud via biometric impersonation,” Ji Tianjin added, sensing Su Cha was particularly concerned about this. “The military academy assigns a special ID code. You don’t need a separate one.”
Half of the hospitals in the empire were owned by the Ji family. Ji Tianjin had some understanding of the interface between hospitals and the military.
When they returned to the school, Su Cha noticed there were more people walking around campus.
From the moment the first team signup was submitted, it was like a domino effect—everyone else stopped waiting. In just over three hours, team formations among the new students were essentially complete.
Su Cha checked the roster online and found his name.
Team “He’s Here”: Captain: Ji Tianjin
Members: Di Yuansi, Liu Xiqin, Rong Shao, Su Cha, Wu Shui, Wu Zhi
The member names were arranged alphabetically. As for the team name… Su Cha looked at Ji Tianjin strangely. That didn’t sound like his style at all.
Ji Tianjin remained expressionless. “Rong Shao’s doing.”
In some sense, no one in this team was exactly “normal.”
The captain himself insisted on bringing along a “dead weight” but refused to say why.
Rong Shao insisted on naming the team and even consulted a fortune teller for it.
Wu Shui and Wu Zhi were siblings and claimed to have a telepathic connection.
Liu Xiqin and Di Yuansi ranked third and fifth in entrance exam scores, respectively—one was taciturn, the other excelled at ambushes.
Just then, Rong Shao came walking out of a nearby building. When he saw Ji Tianjin, he rushed over. “Finally! I’ve been looking everywhere for you.”
Su Cha was surprised. “What happened to your face?”
Rong Shao’s eye was bruised like a panda’s. He looked aggrieved and showed Su Cha his communicator.
To prevent future misunderstandings, Ji Tianjin had asked Rong Shao to inform potential teammates ahead of time that Su Cha would be joining the team, and anyone who minded should not apply. So Rong Shao had written a recruitment post:
Ji Tianjin, male.
Now sincerely recruiting teammates. Must be able to accept Su Cha, be kind to Su Cha, responsible, and not care about his past. Let’s build a bright future together.
Su Cha’s mouth twitched. Is this… a divorced single dad looking for a stepmom ad?
When did this guy become so bold? Back at the start of school, he’d been practically worshipping Ji Tianjin.
“My family heard I was entering the league tournamnet and unfroze my card,” Rong Shao said cheerfully. “I’ve paid off my debt to him!”
Like it or not, they were now on the same team. Rong Shao’s attitude toward Su Cha had obviously improved.
After the laughter, Rong Shao turned serious. “I got some insider info. The league is being moved up. All schools are skipping the pre-competition training.”
Ji Tianjin didn’t seem surprised. “The freshmen haven’t had any structured training yet. Might as well throw them into wild-style combat.”
Rong Shao was about to respond when he suddenly froze—he spotted a familiar figure walking with the dean down a shaded path in the distance. Before he could react further, Su Cha picked up the conversation: “Exactly. That way, even if we lose, it won’t be embarrassing. And if we win—it’s double the glory.”
See? Even without formal training, our students can still win championships.
At that last line, Rong Shao started coughing like mad.
Sensing something, Su Cha turned around instinctively—but didn’t see anyone.
Rong Shao shot him a look. Though the dean and the principal were still quite far away, anyone with powerful spiritual strength could’ve heard every word clearly.
The two figures drew closer. The dean walked half a step behind, shoulders slightly offset from the principal.
The principal exuded his usual commanding presence. He spoke two light words that landed like a mountain: “Nice thinking.”
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