"Mr. Liu, do you remember Ji Xinghe? He was one of your students, from the Mecha Repair class of 2042. He had a very distinct characteristic, he was very tall, about one point nine meters…"
"Ji Xinghe, I remember."
"How would you evaluate Ji Xinghe?"
In the screen, Mr. Liu, who was already ninety years old, was lying on a lounger in the nursing home yard with his eyes closed enjoying the warmth brought by the sunlight, as if he had fallen asleep. The reporter next to him did not press him, but waited quietly. About a minute later, Mr. Liu abruptly opened his eyes as if suddenly awakened.
"Ji Xinghe, I remember, he was very tall, one meter ninety-three."
"Yes, that's him. Mr. Liu, what do you think of him?"
Mr. Liu closed his eyes again, his body even started to gently sway as he lay on the lounger.
The reporter's expression was a bit agitated as he whispered, "When old Mr. Ji was younger, he was one meter and ninety-three centimeters tall, but with old age his body hunched somewhat, so the last time we measured him he was only one meter and ninety centimeters tall. Age and time are our greatest enemies, not only for old Mr. Ji but also for Mr. Liu, who is now ninety-two years old and has dementia…."
The waiting time was again one minute, and it was as if there was an alarm clock inside Mr. Liu's body that woke him up.
"He, he is an unconscious genius."
"A genius?" The reporter asked excitedly: "Mr. Liu, are you saying that old Mr. Ji is a genius? Then why did he go back to work at an auto repair shop in New Phoenix City after he graduated from school?"
Mr. Liu fell asleep again and the reporter waited helplessly. A minute later, Mr. Liu once again woke up and cried out, "Ji Xinghe, I know, he was very tall, one meter ninety-three."
"..." Reporter: "Yes, Mr. Liu, that's him, what do you think of him?"
A minute later.
"He, he is an unconscious genius."
"Why do you say that? Did old Mr. Ji show his talent when he was in school? Could you tell us more, Mr. Liu, Mr. Liu?"
The interview could not continue, even though the reporter was very patient, it was hard to interact with an elderly person suffering from dementia like a normal person. But this interview footage was still released by the Federal Army after editing, they needed to keep Ji Xinghe's popularity, to keep the inspiring story of a man avenging his son alive for the whole Federation, only by doing so could they better gather the strength of the entire Federation to win the war against the Empire.
With the distance between Alien Planet and Azure Star getting closer and closer, the Empire is also getting closer to the Federation. If the defenses on the Alien Planet are breached, it will be a disaster for all mankind.
Under such circumstances, Ji Xinghe needs popularity, but Ji Xinghe, who is still aboard a spacecraft and hasn't reached the Alien Planet, hasn't created a new story. Although at the age of sixty-five, he ran ten kilometers in thirty-five minutes and didn't end up on a stretcher or in the hospital, this story wouldn't inspire people for a long time.
So they started digging into Ji Xinghe's past, but Ji Xinghe's life experience was really too simple. There were no major ups and downs, it was uneventful and even boring, the only thing that was there was a quietly tragic life.
Ji Xinghe, a solitary man, only had a story associated with his wife's accident. However, for the parents of a war hero who sacrificed himself for the Federation, even if the military wanted to mobilize support, they had to remain respectful.
They could talk about Ji Chenxing because he was a Federation soldier. They could bring up Ji Xinghe because now he, too, was a soldier of the Federation. However, they couldn't mention the mother of Ji Chenxing or the wife of Ji Xinghe, because she was just an ordinary woman, like all the ordinary people that Federation soldiers devoted their lives to protect.
Ji Chenxing had died, while Ji Xinghe was still alive. Therefore, the focus of the story was placed on Ji Xinghe. Anyone who knew Ji Xinghe might appear in a documentary related to him.
Mr. Liu said that Mr. Ji Xinghe is an unwitting genius. So, as Mr. Ji's schoolmate, how would you assess him?"
Using Mr. Liu's words, the reporter began interviewing Ji Xinghe's college, high school, and even middle school classmates - all now in their sixties or seventies, obliging the reporter to use respectful address.
"Yes, Ji is a genius," one college classmate said, "In each test, he always scored full marks, no matter whether it was a theoretical or a practical test. We used to call him a straight-A student."
"Yes, Ji is a genius," a high school classmate said, "Although I know Ji had to repeat a year, he definitely was a genius. I know why he stayed back — he loved mechanic training so much that he often failed his academic courses. I also remember him arguing with his parents about choosing Mechanical majors."
"Yes, Ji is a genius," a middle school classmate said, "Between us, Ji knew martial arts. The reason he had to repeat a year was because he was secretly learning martial arts while working for free at a mechanics shop, fixing all kinds of machines. From mouses, keyboards, phones, computers, TVs, bicycles, motorcycles, e-bikes… he could fix anything. He wouldn't have been held back if it weren't for that."
The testimonies of his three mates painted a clearer picture of Ji Xinghe in the audience's mind: a genius who loved martial arts and had a passion for repair work, thus compromising his academic classes. In college, he held onto his dream and went to a school specializing in Mechanic training, where he demonstrated an incredible talent that, even four or five decades later, still amazed his teacher, who referred to him as an "unwitting genius".
So, here's the question.
The reporter passed the microphone to Ji Xinghe's friends and coworkers.
"Why do you think a genius like Mr. Ji chose to work at a repair shop in New Phoenix City after graduation instead of pursuing further education or working somewhere more specialized?"
"What, you think our repair shop isn't good enough? Let me tell you, there's no car repair shop more specialized than ours in the whole of New Phoenix City, no, in the whole of Dragon Continent."
"No, no, I didn't mean it like that. I was merely curious about why Mr. Ji made this choice."
The answer was straightforward, Ji Xinghe's friend said into the camera, "Because his parents were not in good health at that time and he wanted to go home to take care of them. Also, back then, mechas didn't exist; mechanics were merely repair workers. Apart from working on large machines in factories, the only other work was car repairing, and since New Phoenix City was a tourist city and didn't have such factories, car repair was the only choice."
The reporter was deeply moved and said sincerely to the camera, "Mr. Ji is an unwitting genius. However, to take care of his parents, he chose to give up his promising future. What kind of spirit is this? Like the fact that Mr. Ji could have retired peacefully but instead chose to enlist in the military at an old age for the sake of the Federation, passing the rigorous tests to successfully enlist. What kind of spirit is this? I'm sorry, I can't find the words to describe it but I would say it's...the spirit of Mr. Ji. The old Qi was ambitious, the warrior retained his aspirations even in his twilight years…"
The audience's emotions were mixed when they saw these clips and heard the emotionally charged narration from the reporter. The Federation's recruitment drive saw a dramatic increase in sign-ups.
But what nobody knew was that the reporter had also interviewed Ji Xinghe's elementary school classmates. However, their remarks didn't make it into the final edit.
"Ji's a genius? Hahaha…He just wanted to drive a Transformer! He used to keep telling us that he'd build a Transformer when he grew up. He even wagered that if he built a Transformer, I would have to offer my sister's hand in marriage to him. So, where is his Transformer now? He can't even build a mecha, and my sister...well, her grandson is in college now."
"Him secretly practicing martial arts? I know about that too! He said that if he couldn't build a Transformer, he'd catch one and ride it. Not drive, ride! Because it would be a Transformer he'd caught, he said that he needed to secretly practice martial arts, or else he wouldn't be able to defeat a Transformer. Hahaha…Ji, Ji, you're such an idiot. You joined the military at your age. If you die, I absolutely won't go to your grave to pour wine for you. I'll keep it for myself at home, let you drool in your grave, you fool."