Chapter 19 Torture

Until the end of the new recruit training, Zhou Jiu was called to the office alone. She watched the video that Xiao Wen had shown her, as well as the trending topics on the internet during her military training.

"Can we talk about it? About your special abilities."

Zhou Jiu looked at Xiao Wen, whose eyes were filled with a sense of oppression, but she was not intimidated. She sat up straight and relaxed slightly, put her arms on the table, and chuckled, "If Instructor Xiao is interested, you can search for information about the I Ching and divination on the Star Network. This is a traditional research topic of ancient Blue Star."

Xiao Wen entered with a serious expression, tapped the table, and said, "Please sit up straight. I am still your superior."

Zhou Jiu raised an eyebrow slightly, lowered his arm, and said, "Sorry, these are personal matters. I thought the instructor wanted to have a heart-to-heart talk with the students."

Xiao Wen pointed to the video and asked, "Sometimes the military gives preferential treatment to capable people. Can your ability be widely promoted?"

“The instructor doesn’t seem to believe in these things. Sometimes what I divine isn’t entirely up to me; it’s also determined by the person being divined for. Besides, there are many researchers of the I Ching, and it’s open to everyone in the interstellar space. I suppose the instructor hasn’t searched for this kind of information beforehand. I don’t think the instructor called me here today entirely for divination.” Zhou Jiu was used to getting straight to the point.

“Your talismans have a healing effect on mental energy. I know a patient and would like to ask for your help,” Xiao Wen said.

This was completely different from what Zhou Jiu had expected. She concealed her surprise and replied appropriately, "If it can really help, I'd be happy to. But runes are actually not as effective as mental healing in stabilizing mental energy. Their main function is to provide short-term relief during sudden energy changes in feng shui."

Zhou Jiu was still somewhat puzzled. Had Sun You's plans just fallen apart like that? That couldn't be right. The way Sun You had acted these past few days clearly indicated that everything was going according to plan. It couldn't just fall through like that.

“However, I can go and take a look, if it’s within my scope of help,” Zhou Jiu added.

“Since your basic training ends today, I’ll take you there, but this has to be kept secret,” Xiao Wen said, then added, “You’re not in a hurry to go home, are you?”

Looking at Xiao Wen's expression, Zhou Jiu smiled and said, "Instructor, you have my information, right? Where else can an orphan like me go?"

Xiao Wen raised an eyebrow, stood up, signaling Zhou Jiu could leave, and said, "You've always claimed to be from the ancient Blue Star, so I always thought your E-star information was fake."

Zhou Jiu revealed an exaggerated expression: "Instructor Xiao's information is not very accurate. In fact, I should be an ancient Blue Star person, and later I became an E Star person due to an accident. But then again, who wasn't an ancient Blue Star person at the beginning?"

Xiao Wen gave a fake smile and said, "Stop joking. I know you're not happy that I called you in."

Zhou Jiu walked upright and chuckled softly, "If the instructor hadn't questioned me like this, I would be happy to have an order. My online store has been exposed, you should know I'm very poor."

Xiao Wen smiled enigmatically: "As far as I know, the three of you have a joint venture, and your income has surpassed mine in the past two years."

Zhou Jiu frowned and looked to the side: "Even a small company is known to the instructors. It seems that the First Military Region cares a lot about us three students from Star E?"

"Zhou Jiu is too unaware of his own abilities. The First Military Region does value outstanding students. I'm just a little curious, didn't Zhou Jiu receive an offer from the United Nations University?"

The two boarded the spacecraft together. Zhou Jiu pointed to his personal terminal and asked, "Do you mind if I send a message to my classmates? I'm not going back with them. My companions will worry."

Xiao Wen nodded in agreement.

Zhou Jiu showed the message he had typed to Xiao Wen before sending it to Lin Xiu.

Xiao Wen glanced at Zhou Jiu with a strange look on his serious face. "You don't need to be nervous. I'm not treating you like a prisoner."

Zhou Jiu smiled and said, "This is for my own good."

Zhou Jiu began to answer Xiao Wen's earlier question, "I did not receive any notification from the United Nations. After all, the three of us have no powerful backers and we participated in the volunteer army operation on the wasteland. You should know that the leaders of the volunteer army and the commander of the Third Military Region have a grudge, which is also common knowledge on the StarNet. So we decided to take a gamble."

"Of course, you also know that as federally sponsored students without guardians after the interstellar disaster, we must accept jobs arranged for us by the government after we come of age, so it is normal for everyone to choose military academy."

Xiao Wen nodded, seemingly accepting Zhou Jiu's explanation: "Then why is it Army One?"

Zhou Jiu smiled slightly: "This is for personal reasons, but of course, if the instructor is interested, I can satisfy the instructor's curiosity."

Xiao Wen's eyes were slightly raised. Zhou Jiu's gaze quickly swept over Xiao Wen's hands, and when Xiao Wen's gaze returned, he had already looked away and said, "Because I can do divination, I believe in fate. One day I dreamed that my future boyfriend met me wearing the uniform of the First Military Academy, and I persuaded my two friends to accompany me into the First Military Academy."

Xiao Wen couldn't help but laugh out loud: "I feel that you are actually quite rational and wouldn't believe in this kind of dreamy love."

Zhou Jiu said very seriously, "Didn't you miss your girlfriend when you were on the battlefield? If you didn't have a girlfriend, wouldn't you regret not having a love story?"

Xiao Wen looked at him with disbelief, as if he were looking at a child. Zhou Jiu had seen this look so many times that he no longer cared about it.

"I care about my career. As for girlfriends? To be honest, I don't really believe in love."

Zhou Jiu smiled and honestly continued explaining herself: "I believe you. Although I don't remember my family very well, I still have vague memories of our time together. I love my family, and I love my friends, like Lin Xiu and Sun You. I believe I will fall in love with someone else. Actually, I've already met him. Of course, if you've checked my communications, you'll know who he is." She didn't believe that these people from the Federation wouldn't check her communications after she became useful to them.

Xiao Wen looked at Zhou Jiu's eyes, tapped the shut-off button on the personal computer beside him, and Zhou Jiu stopped talking after noticing it.

Xiao Wen said with a half-smile, "You're very cautious."

Zhou Jiu gave him a questioning look: "What?"

"nothing."

Zhou Jiu noticed that after going through several loops, she was finally taken to her location by Xiao Wen's aircraft. Undoubtedly, they had taken a long detour.

"arrive."

Zhou Jiu silently entered the suburban villa. After being checked by the guards outside and having her personal terminal removed, she entered the villa's outer gate with Xiao Wen.