"Phew, that was a tough one."
I let out a deep breath after leaving the examination hall. Honestly, I couldn't help but feel an immense sense of relief. Beside me, Liu Zhi Yong punched the air and cheered.
"Finally! We're free! We don't have to study for another stupid exam ever again!"
"We will have to for university classes," I reminded him. Zhi Yong groaned.
"Don't remind me! Ugh! You know what I mean! Don't ruin the mood!"
"Yeah." Still, I was pleased that the ordeal was finally over. though I wasn't terrible academically, I still didn't enjoy studying and doing mock exam papers for hours on end. It took a few months, but we had finally gotten through the biggest hurdle of high school life.
No, not romance. Gao Kao. I didn't know how well I had done, but I was confident I did decently. Enough to get a spot in P University, at least. I was still hoping I could apply for a place in the national university in Country Xing, but the organization might not be happy about that.
I still remembered my conversation with Lin Xue after she accepted the signed contract from me.
"So…the Department of Strange Phenomenon and Radical Unusual Encounters?" I had frowned, staring at the top of the form. "And here I thought you are from the National Special Abilities Bureau."
"You read way too many web novels," Lin Xue had snapped. "The number of people with special abilities – and we call them psychics – is very low. Even in our organization, we only have less than fifty psychics. The bulk of our department is made of people without powers, but they usually handle the administrative jobs and logistics. And then there are people like you, who supposedly don't have special abilities, but are talented enough to be huge assets on the field. That's why we are recruiting you even though you claim to not possess any special abilities."
"Um…I see."
"Don't worry." Lin Xue had smiled. "As a civil servant and governmental staff, you will receive huge benefits. Obviously, we aren't ever going to be rich, but we have lots of privileges, our career paths are stable, and you will never have to worry about going hungry or homeless."
What was she doing, trying to sell some shady job to me? "Join the marine corps. Travel to exotic, distant lands. Meet new, exciting people. then kill them."
Oh boy, if only she knew what my real job was.
…and that had just ended. Despite my retort to Zhi Yong's utterance, I personally didn't want to study for a very, very long time. I had all but burned myself out over the last few months. I didn't want to touch another workbook…
"What should we do now that the Gao Kao is over? Let's celebrate!"
I was going to "celebrate" by either going to the library or heading straight home to play the growing pile of PC games that had been untouched for several months because my dad all but banned me from my computer.
"Oh no you don't!" Zhi Yong cried, grabbing my arm. "Don't just go home by yourself! Have a life! At least hang out with me! I spent the last few months cooped up in my room, doing nothing but studying and practicing mock exam papers! I don't want to go back home like this!"
"Then what do you suggest we do?" I rolled my eyes.
"Um…I was hoping to go to a mixer."
At that, I caught sight of Hui Zhang and Huang Xiang Jun. The couple was walking hand in hand, chattering excitedly about their future plans. Looked like they were going on a date now that the Gao Kao was over. Even though I had moved on, I still couldn't help but feel a stab in my chest.
Turning away, I glared at Zhi Yong. "Hell, no. if you want to flirt with girls, go by yourself. Don't drag me into it."
"C'mon, don't be a spoilsport. How about we do what you want to do? And please don't say we're going to a library. You know I'm not a bookworm like you. I'm sure you have more exciting hobbies."
"Fine." I sighed heavily. "Let's go to a net café and play Starcraft 2. I can hear the emperor of the mighty Terran Dominion calling for my help, begging for elite commanders such as myself to crush the advanced golden armada of the insidious Protoss and numberless swarms of the ravenous Zerg." I rubbed my hands gleefully. "It's time for the Mech Emperor to return."
"…you sound like a middle school second year syndrome sufferer," Zhi Yong groaned. Then he smirked. "But you're on, buddy! Let's climb up the ladder! I'm sure we'll have to work hard to make it to Diamond rank this season!"
"Diamond rank?" I scoffed. "What a noob. We should be aiming for Grand Masters!"
"Sorry to dash your dreams to the ground, but I'm afraid you will not be able to achieve that aim. At least not in the near future. Now that you've finished your Gao Kao, I need you to come with me."
Both Zhi Yong and I did a double take at the familiar voice. Turning around and feeling no small amount of trepidation, I caught sight of Lin Xue. She was dressed in that usual combat uniform (with an impractical skirt) that I now knew to be the uniform of the Department of Strange Phenomenon and Radical Unusual Encounters. Fuck, that was too long. Let's just abbreviate it to the Department of Sprue.
"Hello, senior." I sighed wearily. Couldn't they give me a break? I had just finished the damned Gao Kao, for heaven's sake. To be fair, Lin Xue had kept her word and Sprue didn't bother me during the past few months when I was studying furiously for the Gao Kao, but I didn't expect them to hand me a mission immediately after I finished my exams.
"Tian Xing!" Zhi Yong yelled, throwing an arm over my shoulders and half-strangling me. "Who the hell is this beauty!?"
"She's my senior at a university I'm applying for, provided I score high enough grades in the Gao Kao."
"You'll do well. We all have faith in you. Besides, our Chao University for Special Students doesn't require that high a score to enroll in. We're more flexible than most academic institutions." Lin Xue was blatantly ignoring Zhi Yong's insistence. As an aside, I had learned that she was one year older than me and a first year in university, which was why I now normally addressed her as senior (Xue Jie).
"What the…you already have a spot un a university? Then why did you even bother taking the Gao Kao?"
"Firstly, it's a formality. Secondly, even if Tian Xing's spot is all but guaranteed, we want evidence that he's responsible and disciplined enough to put in the hard work necessary to pass examinations. Thirdly, I never said Chao University don't require you to pass the Gao Kao. I said that we just don't need that high a score. He still needs to meet the minimum requirements and reach a certain standard, otherwise it'll demonstrate that our faith in him was misplaced."
Finally, Lin Xue deigned to speak to Zhi Yong. She glared at him so intently that he actually squirmed and took a step back, pale and perspiring.
"I'm sorry, little brother," she continued in a fake sweet voice. "But I have business with Tian Xing. Do you mind lending him to me?"
"N…not at all!" Zhi Yong raised his hands and plastered on a smile. "Enjoy your date, big sister! Tian Xing!"
He then sprinted away, sobbing and howling something along the lines of me being a lucky bastard while cursing me relentlessly. That fucker…was he really my best friend?
Shaking my head, I turned back to Lin Xue. "All right, senior. What's the mission? And couldn't you let me rest after I just finished my exams? Does it really have to be now?"
"I originally wanted to, but this is an emergency."
Lin Xue gestured for me to follow her. Whoa, I didn't expect her to have such an amazing car. It was some hi-tech automobile from a very well-known national brand, probably because some sponsor requested for product placement in the animated adaptation. I was surprised when the door on the passenger side opened automatically. Sliding into the lush leather seats, I put on my seatbelt and glanced at the driver. She was already starting the engine.
"This is a company car, by the way," she added when she saw me staring at the advanced consoles, which included a monitor at the front. "You'll get to drive one when you work in the department for long enough."
"Cool. I'll need to get my license first."
"Yeah, you should. But before that, the mission. We're heading to the Gobi Desert up north. An archeological dig team vanished shortly after they uncovered an ancient ruin. Given the mysterious circumstances of the manner in which they disappeared, and the failure of a military special forces team to locate them, our department is being sent in."
"I see why you say it's an emergency." I nodded thoughtfully. Given the possibility that every second might mean life and death for the archeological team, they couldn't possibly wait for me to come back after taking a long vacation from the Gao Kao. "So where's Xu Qian Qian? Are you not going to bring her along? Her father's part of the archeological team, right?"
Lin Xue slammed on the brakes from shock. She turned to gape at me. "Who the hell is Xu Qian Qian? I don't think there's any person with the surname Xu in the archeological team?!"
"Never mind…I was trying to rip off Chen Jun, that's all."
"Who the hell is Chen Jun?!"
"The protagonist of…never mind."
"You read way too many web novels!" Lin Xue glared at me before placing her hands back on the steering wheel and resuming the drive. It was fortunate that she had done so at a red light, or we would have been in an accident…except that I realized that there was an AI built into the car that allowed it to go on autopilot.
Huh, so my cruiser wasn't the only science fiction like thing in this world.
"I know you said you don't have any special abilities, but we thought that you might be able to think of something, given how you can mysteriously teleport back then."
"That was only once, and I told you, that wasn't me. That was the device that alien monster found."
"Sure." Lin Xue couldn't keep the skepticism out of her voice. She wasn't going to argue, though, instead trusting that I would do whatever necessary when the time came. In the meantime, she would respect my desire to keep my special ability a secret. Not that I had such a desire, and I really had been telling the truth this whole time.
"Commander." Aegis's telepathic voice spoke inside my mind. "I recommend that you take on this mission with the utmost urgency. There is a high probability that this ruin that Lin Xue mentioned is linked to one of the other relics."
"Huh?" I thought back without speaking. "I thought you said you're the only relic on Earth?"
"That is correct. This is not a reevaluation of that assessment. However, after conducting a scan from orbit, I have reason to believe that this ruin contains a spatial-temporal portal that leads to another dimension where a relic is stored. Recovering this relic is of the utmost priority. At the same time, you will be able to locate and rescue the missing archeologists."
"Understood." I nodded surreptitiously, careful not to rouse Lin Xue's suspicion. Instead, I turned to her with a different question. "Um, you said the Gobi Desert? Isn't that like really far up north? How are we getting there? By plane? Does Sprue have a private jet for our use?"
"Oh, we don't need a plane, but we are certainly flying there." Lin Xue smirked. I blinked and stared at her in bewilderment.
"Huh?"
"Watch." Lin Xue guided the car into a highway. Speeding across the road, she took a turn and our transport surged through an empty path bereft of other vehicles. Then she reached out to press a button on the front console.
I watched in astonishment as armor plates began emerging and folding over the exterior of the car. With a shudder, the car began taking off as the roar of jet engines thundered below, thrusting us straight toward the sky like a rocket.
"Like I said, we're flying there," Lin Xue said with a grin as she leaned back in her chair, steering the transformed car up north. I shook my head in amazement, but wasn't very surprised now that I had calmed down.
After all, this was the girl who wielded a gun that literally shoots lightning. It wasn't too much of a stretch of the imagination for her to own a flying car too. Rather, I was hoping I would get a chance to drive one myself. Eventually.