Power Pill — this type of medicine can unleash fierce strength at critical moments, but it comes with severe aftereffects. After use, the body will be weakened for a long time. It’s a must-have for outdoor expeditions.
It’s a very common pill, but all the brands endorsed by Su Cha belong to the same group of bosses, who have a remarkably unified sense of aesthetics.
On top of that, they poured money into marketing. The ads themselves were made on a small budget, so they went all in on making them extremely tacky — which became a selling point of its own.
The principal sat expressionless, but his fingers kept clicking the mouse.
Great. Can’t even close this hooligan ad.
…
“Desolate stars have extreme temperature differences between day and night. It’s hard to rest well. The competition will last for a week. Every year someone gets into trouble from exhaustion…”
A broadcast in the hallway cut off Ji Tianjin mid-sentence.
“Student Su Cha, please report to the principal’s office immediately.”
“Student Su Cha, please report to the principal’s office immediately.”
The message repeated several times, and everyone’s eyes landed on Su Cha, curious about what had happened.
Rong Shao clapped his hands and guessed, “Maybe they want you to give a speech.”
Su Cha had just received a medal, and with the finals over, the new student orientation was approaching — each year a student representative gave a speech.
Su Cha scratched the back of his head and smiled bashfully. “Really? That’s kind of embarrassing.”
The elevator led straight to the first floor.
Su Cha muttered to himself the whole way, “If I refuse the principal’s request to be the student representative, would that be too rude?”
He really didn’t like public speaking.
In the administration room, Li Huai heard everything loud and clear.
Perfect — this kid’s confidence has grown even stronger after just one trip out.
There weren’t many people on the road today, but everyone who saw him couldn’t help but stare for a few extra seconds.
Su Cha gradually frowned.
The building with the principal’s office was as cool and shadowy as always. Su Cha stopped outside the door, just about to knock, when a passionate voice came from inside—
“Take this and the enemy is DONE!”
Su Cha’s expression changed and he immediately turned to leave.
“Come in.” As if knowing what he was about to do, the principal’s voice rang out just in time.
Resigned, Su Cha pushed open the slightly ajar door. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of the ad playing on the electronic screen and took a deep breath. “You were looking for me?”
The principal, being the principal, was playing that brainwashing ad on loop and still calmly handling paperwork without so much as a twitch: “Having any difficulties in life?”
“No,” Su Cha replied softly. “And even if I did, I’d handle it myself.”
The principal raised his head and pressed the pause button.
The hypnotic ad finally fell silent.
The principal: “Is this about the tournament?”
Su Cha didn’t deny it — he nodded.
“The Empire gives compensation to victims of the live-experimentation case. In addition to monthly subsidies, there’s also a one-time payment of a million star coins.”
Su Cha was stunned. Why had he never heard of this?
“You were supposed to receive it too — but your identity is questionable.” The principal was blunt. “No other test subject has been as healthy as you.”
Su Cha’s current life was the result of extensive coordination between multiple parties.
While he was still dazed, the principal pulled open a drawer and handed him a form: “Given your performance in the simulated battle, you can try applying for the payment again.”
Su Cha stared at the form for a few seconds, then suddenly asked, “Do you know Shen Ningze?”
It was kind of a pointless question, so he continued, “Has the Investigation Department looked into him too?”
“Shen Ningze’s test report showed a large buildup of undigested drugs in his system — evidence that he’s been subjected to long-term pharmaceutical experiments.”
Su Cha found it interesting how people in power often avoided direct answers.
“Ji Tianjin publicly hit him just once, and during that time, there was eye contact between the two of you,” the principal said calmly. “Xie Rongjue loves digging into those tiny details.”
“Alright. The league’s about to start. Go back and focus on your own tasks.”
Su Cha nodded slightly and left.
The principal’s thoughts lined up with what he’d suspected — Ji Tianjin was deliberately directing the Investigation Department’s attention toward Shen Ningze.
Back in the dorm, the discussion was still ongoing.
Squeezing back into the group, Su Cha’s expression grew serious. He carefully memorized all the reminders and tips. By the time the conversation ended, three hours had passed. Everyone returned to their rooms, except for Su Cha, who stayed behind.
Rong Shao: “You’re not leaving?”
Su Cha: “Help me close the door. Thanks.”
“…”
Rong Shao left, confused. Su Cha pressed his lips together, just about to speak—only for Ji Tianjin, seemingly reading his mind, to ask first: “You’re suspicious of Shen Ningze too?”
Su Cha was surprised. “Why?”
“Back on the day you were rescued, the person who leaked the news to the reporters was never found. Shen Ningze was always in the hospital, and he was Dr. Norton’s patient. He was the most likely to overhear communications with Dr. Norton.”
At that time, Ji Tianjin had lost control of his mental power, so he was hyper-sensitive to even the slightest disturbance in the environment. He vaguely sensed a fragile spiritual form inside the hospital. The only people moving around in that area were Shen Ningze and the medical staff.
But the spiritual strength of a medical worker shouldn’t be that weak.
Just then, Su Cha received a message from Shen Ningze — asking how he was feeling.
[Saw the news that you were discharged (rose.jpg), congratulations.]
“If something can’t be solved, leave it to the professionals.” Locking eyes, Ji Tianjin reminded, “The head of the Investigation Department returned this morning.”
Xie Rongjue had found the dismantled warship, but Fasite’s body wasn’t inside.
Dealing with the Investigation Department and involving a victim meant even the principal and Yise chose their words carefully to avoid giving others ammunition. So Ji Tianjin cast some bait for the department using a fishing tactic. But Su Cha thought it wasn’t enough—they needed to throw in more fuel.
He went downstairs and found Li Huai: “Reporting to the instructor, I’d like to report something to the Investigation Department.”
Li Huai didn’t show much interest in what was to be reported and instead asked, “Not shooting a commercial?”
“…No.”
Facing the skeptical look, Su Cha repeatedly assured that he wouldn’t be taking on any endorsement gigs for now.
Half-believing, Li Huai eventually handed him a two-hour leave slip: “If you really want to do commercials, I can introduce you to a few.”
A student from the affiliated school filming those eye-burning ads—it wouldn’t look good if it spread.
Unlike when he first entered the school, Su Cha now had some ability to protect himself. After the space pirate incident, the mastermind had temporarily gone quiet, and the imperial capital was heavily guarded with patrol cars everywhere. He no longer needed a spirit form to accompany him for protection when going out.
Half an hour later, Su Cha stood outside the Investigation Department headquarters: “Hello…”
“Hello.” The investigator he called out to greeted him while reflexively stepping back: “Say what you need to say, just don’t faint.”
The deputy had just been publicly criticized—a vivid cautionary tale.
Su Cha smiled politely: “I’d like to report something to the chief.”
The investigator warned seriously: “No one survives after trying to scam the chief.”
“Not scamming,” Su Cha nearly swore it.
After entering the lobby, the investigator had the front desk make a call. The receptionist nodded: “The chief said let him up.”
Xie Rongjue’s office was all in dull colors. When Su Cha entered, the once-duped deputy chief was also present, looking at him like he was some troublemaker.
Su Cha shrugged. No wonder he couldn’t be the chief—compared to the unreadable Xie Rongjue, he still lacked control.
With only two hours of leave, Su Cha got straight to the point: “Hello, I forgot to mention something during my last visit.”
The deputy chief sneered. Forgot? He fainted and was carried out.
“While stalling Fasite, I lied that I had classified intel about the live experiments. If I died, the intel would automatically be released.”
Xie Rongjue paused slightly: “Who else knows about this?”
Su Cha: “Among our own, just three people.”
He glanced at the deputy chief, but didn’t guarantee there wouldn’t be leaks in the future. The deputy’s gaze darkened—was that a jab at him being loose-lipped?
“Good judgment,” Xie Rongjue remarked, referring to how Su Cha managed to deduce part of the pirates’ motive in that situation.
Then he signaled the deputy to leave.
To avoid him—just for a student? The deputy felt even more resentful but still obeyed.
Once alone, Su Cha continued step by step: “Assuming the mastermind now knows through Fasite, they might think twice before killing me next time. I want to tell Shen Ningze that if he’s in danger someday, he can also use this as leverage.”
Xie Rongjue asked with a faint smile: “How?”
Su Cha imitated Shen Ningze’s tone: “My friend Su Cha said if anything happens to me, he’ll release all the classified information he knows.”
A whole minute passed with no reply.
Big shots are hard to read. Su Cha was debating whether to say more to break the silence when Xie Rongjue finally spoke.
“A lie is still a lie. Killers won’t be swayed by words,” Xie Rongjue said lightly. “Better give him a name.”
“A name?”
“Wolenson.”
This was someone the Investigation Department had long suspected of colluding with the Xilin Group, though only investigated in secret.
Hearing that name, Su Cha was briefly stunned. After regaining his senses, he knew when to stop: “Thank you, Chief.”
“I can’t be gone from school too long. I’ll be leaving now.”
He left in a rush. Sipping tea, Xie Rongjue chuckled, having long seen through Su Cha’s attempt to use him to investigate Shen Ningze: “So scheming at such a young age.”
Outside, the deputy frowned—he’s leaving already?
Too casual. Not even faking a faint?
He still believed Su Cha’s fainting earlier had some trick to it.
Returning to the office, the deputy waited for Xie Rongjue to sign some documents and muttered complaints about Su Cha.
Xie Rongjue didn’t respond, but internally felt that the department could use some fresh blood. Watching Su Cha’s departing figure downstairs, he thought—”So cunning… it’d be a pity if he doesn’t join after graduation.”
Downstairs, Su Cha was breathing fresh air. Maybe the energy there clashed with him—he’d felt suffocated inside.
But he’d achieved his goal. He just wanted to remind Xie Rongjue: if the mastermind truly wanted to eliminate all threats, they wouldn’t let Shen Ningze live till now—after all, he’s a witness. Shen Ningze had just always stayed in the hospital, too low-profile to be noticed.
“Wolenson.” Su Cha repeated the name, sure he’d heard it somewhere before.
He closed his eyes, trying to block out all sound and dig into his memory. His headache intensified. The name was like Pandora’s box—triggering something.
Though it was summer, cold sweat dripped from his forehead. His vision blurred, and he vaguely saw a thin man in a white lab coat, talking on the phone…
“Wolenson, you won’t believe what I’ve found. It’s incredible. Such powerful genes actually exist in this world.”
The man got more excited: “So lucky they were in battle with the strange beasts. Otherwise, my hired men could never have broken into the gene vault.”
The deputy came out of the building, about to board a craft to deliver an important file, when he saw Su Cha standing motionless nearby.
Su Cha saw him too and staggered.
“Don’t… don’t come over.”
This time he really didn’t want to fake anything.
He even tried to step back and leave the department’s range entirely.
One step, two steps… He dreamed of making it under the tree, enduring the piercing headache and telling himself he’d just rest a bit.
The deputy sneered, approaching: “What a coincidence? Not feeling well again?”
Cold sweat beaded on Su Cha’s skin. He stammered: “You… don’t… come over.”
The deputy, still sore over the previous reprimand, pressed further: “Faint, huh? Why aren’t you fainting?”
As soon as he said it, Su Cha collapsed right in front of him.
