Chapter 34

Finally realizing that he hadn't called her randomly tonight, Chen Nan picked up a pair of chopsticks and, while unpacking them, said softly, "There was something at work, but it's not a big deal. It's just that when I was talking to Guo Ying before, I heard her say something like that mutants aren't necessarily not human, and I didn't really like that kind of thinking, so I wasn't very enthusiastic towards her. But lately, since we've been going on fieldwork together every day, she probably noticed that my attitude was a bit off, and she directly asked me if I didn't like her."

The other party found out about this so quickly, so someone must have called him specifically.

Logically, such a thing shouldn't have reached him at all. The only possible reason is that someone, while reviewing their own records, discovered that Tang Ke was actually their supernatural power master. Therefore, out of caution, they went directly to the other party, bypassing their level.

At first, Chen Nan didn't really have a real sense of Tang Ke's identity, let alone that it was real. She even felt like she was in a game or a dream, regarding her own superpowers and the existence of this world.

After all, in her world, there was no such thing as superpowers or alien planets. Things like cockroach planets, sunflower planets, princes, and presidents sounded fantastical and unreal to her.

It took her some effort to accept all of this, so naturally she didn't immediately have any substantial impression of Tang Ke, who was only mentioned a few times in the book.

All I can say is that the blood that spilled on He Jun last time completely extinguished the last bit of unreality she felt about this world.

Only after the other party was gone did she become more cautious and careful at work.

She then felt an urgent need to quickly kick Guo Ying out of her world.

At this moment, Tang Ke was acutely aware of the unusual attitude others had towards her, and the special privileges she, as their disciple, truly enjoyed.

Yes, Tang Ke is now at the so-called grassroots frontline.

But he was the kind of person who could go wherever he wanted, at the very grassroots level. He was the kind of person the country would send to the front lines to handle whatever the country needed.

Anyway, with his special surname and special status, he really can't just keep a low profile whenever he wants.

Anyway, from the moment she secretly pressed the recorder button while talking to Guo Ying, Chen Nan had roughly guessed that this moment was coming.

While the other person listened in silence, Chen Nan recounted their conversation in the car that evening to him in detail.

Finally, she explained, "Actually, the biggest reason I reported her was for my own safety. I'm in a team with her every day now, and if she continues with this mentality, she might soften and hesitate when we actually encounter danger. And if she hesitates or pauses for even a second or two, I might end up becoming the second Captain He. So after coming back and staying for a while, I thought about it again and again, and decided to separate from her. But our police station is so small; if I apply to separate from her, she'll definitely team up with someone else."

If that's the case, then I'd be shifting potential danger onto someone else. If something were to happen to that person, I might feel guilty and blame myself. So, after much thought, I finally decided to contact my superiors directly and have the people investigating these kinds of cases specifically investigate her. If they determine she's no longer dangerous, I feel they'll assess Guo Ying's situation and arrange a more suitable position for her. Master, am I doing something wrong? Am I overreacting?

After explaining everything, Chen Nan sat upright on the sofa, looking honest but also a little guilty.

Seeing her like this, Tang Ke, who had been listening silently, shook her head without hesitation: "You did nothing wrong. Our work is quite special. It's the most basic thing to pay attention to the situation around us and our comrades at all times. Don't worry about Guo Ying. Someone will investigate and handle her situation. If they determine that she has no problems, they won't do anything. But if they determine that she does have some problems, they will arrange a more suitable position for her."

Every era has its own specific red lines. In the present country, concealing infected individuals and condoning mutants are the red lines.

These red lines were formed little by little through nearly a century of lessons and bloodshed in the past, and cannot be ignored.

Given Tang Ke's special status and unique level of education, he is a natural advocate for these systems.

So when he saw Chen Nan starting to doubt him, he immediately put away his serious expression and comforted her.

"That's good. I was actually a little uneasy about suddenly reporting her. But now that you've said that, Master, I feel a little better."

Chen Nan, with a hint of cunning, quickly changed the subject: "By the way, Master, have you had dinner? Can you cook?"

While they were talking, Chen Nan also started tidying up the neatly arranged items on the table and began taking them to the refrigerator in the back and the small kitchen next to it.

"We've already finished eating. I can cook; I learned it specifically before, but I haven't cooked in a long time."

Watching her suddenly leave, Tang Ke, sitting in the government office of the 73rd Security Zone, leaned back slightly and gradually relaxed.

"You've studied it specifically? Then you must be able to cook it better than me. I can cook anything, but I just can't seem to make it taste delicious. No matter what I make, it all tastes the same, it's just not as delicious as what others make."

It was already very late, and Chen Nan, who hadn't eaten dinner yet, picked up a box of instant noodles from the table, deciding to have instant noodles for dinner.

"You're not talking about a restaurant chef, are you? Actually, the reason our own cooking isn't very good is because we don't use enough seasoning."

Seeing Chen Nan open the instant noodles and start adding the seasoning, Tang Ke couldn't help but say, "Instant noodles are definitely tastier when cooked than when soaked. Since you have the means at home, why don't you just cook them? And you can also add some of the vegetables and sausages you just bought."

"Oh--"

Chen Nan had originally intended to slack off, but seeing that he had already said so, she could only smile awkwardly, then immediately stood up and said, "Okay, I'll start cooking now, and wash some bok choy while I'm at it."

"Okay, then I won't bother you anymore. Hurry up and finish cooking and eat, then go to bed early. You don't need to worry about Guo Ying's matter anymore; the inspection team will contact Lao Chen to handle it quickly." Seeing that she was about to wash the vegetables, Tang Ke said goodbye at the right time.

"Okay, then thank you for your trouble, Master." Feeling touched, Chen Nan expressed her gratitude with genuine sincerity this time.

"It's no trouble at all, it's what I should do."

Always remembering her identity, Tang Ke smiled slightly as she ended the video call.

"..."

Seeing his sudden smile, Chen Nan, who was also pressing the button on her phone to hang up the video call, paused for a second in surprise.

"She's quite good with words." Chen Nan muttered softly, then smiled and got up to go to the kitchen to actually make her own dinner.

In this era, besides the emergence of cockroach monsters and superhumans, the level of agriculture was actually many, many years behind that of the past.

The main reason is the significant reduction in arable land area, which makes people generally hesitant to cultivate or plant crops outside their farms.

As a result, many vegetables and fruits are now grown in greenhouses.

Let's not even talk about how these vegetables and fruits taste.

At the very least, in terms of output, it is much less than in the world before.

When production decreases, prices naturally rise.

In short, we live in an era where vegetable and fruit prices are extremely high, and ordinary people would rather eat takeout and fast food than cook for themselves.

Cooking for yourself is a waste of time. Secondly, it's actually a little more expensive than eating the simplest fast food or takeout.

Under such circumstances, young people nowadays rarely cook for themselves.

Since it was a rare occasion to cook, even if she only made a simple bowl of instant noodles, Chen Nan still followed the habits of the original owner and everyone else in this world. She placed the instant noodles on the kitchen counter, carefully took two photos from different angles, and then posted them online.

Then, as she brought the instant noodles to the living room and ate while watching the melodramatic idol dramas of this world, she received a lot of likes and comments.

Knowing that the original owner was a minor internet celebrity with many fans, Chen Nan turned off the above prompts and focused on eating and watching the show.

While she was eating and watching a drama where a handsome policeman with superpowers was carrying a beautiful female lead in a princess carry, Tang Ke, in the Border 73 security zone, saw the bowl of instant noodles she had made—a generous portion with bok choy, sausage, and meatballs—and gave it a quiet thumbs up.

The day after Chen Nan secretly reported Guo Ying, instead of sending anyone to investigate Guo Ying, the higher-ups simply issued a transfer order to Guo Ying.

"Captain Chen, what's going on? What's the meaning of this transfer order? I was perfectly fine, so why was I suddenly transferred to the military hospital?"

Guo Ying had just arrived at work that morning and had just seen the transfer order on her phone. She immediately stood up from behind her desk and went straight to Captain Chen's private office.

"This is a decision from above. The focus of our psychological therapist position at the Capital Military Hospital is to treat mental illnesses in soldiers and civilians with post-traumatic stress disorder. You are a healing-type ability user, isn't this your forte? Isn't it a perfect match for your ability? This kind of job has better pay than here, and you won't easily encounter infected or mutants anymore. Isn't this great?"

Every era has its taboos, and in this age, showing sympathy or compassion for mutants is a grave offense. Regardless of how those unfortunate individuals contracted the virus, once infected, they are no longer considered human, and the government's orders are to kill them immediately.

This is a lesson learned through countless deaths and bloodshed over the past century. Anyway, ever since receiving the call from the investigation team yesterday and seeing the numerous outrageous statements Guo Ying posted on special websites, as well as the transcript of her private conversation with Chen Nan yesterday, Captain Chen's impression of Guo Ying has completely changed. Now, when he speaks to Guo Ying, he is no longer as polite and respectful as before.

Actually, the staff member who was in contact with her suggested that she be directly assigned to Safety Zone 73 to receive treatment from the soldiers and civilians there. They said that this way, she wouldn't need much persuasion; once she got there, she would quickly realize whether her previous thinking was right or wrong.

Finally, Director Chen thought of her mentor, remembering how she had painstakingly traveled from the distant 49th Security Zone to their capital security zone. So, after much effort, he managed to get her admitted to the Capital Military Hospital.

Fortunately, Guo Ying is a rare healing-type ability user. Even without any psychological knowledge, the hospital was willing to accept her because of her special ability. This made the matter proceed so quickly and smoothly. Anyway, seeing her still like this, Old Chen's expression grew increasingly serious.

"But I—"

After discovering her supernatural abilities, Guo Ying joined the Presidential Palace Guard with her master. After only a month, she and her master were inexplicably assigned to protect Tang Ke. Later, when Tang Ke went to the border to exchange prisoners of war, her experienced master went with them, and Guo Ying found herself inexplicably teamed up with Chen Nan to handle matters. Less than two months into her job as a junior police officer, she was assigned to provide psychological counseling at a military hospital.

Although this job is indeed a good match for her superpowers.

But upon closer examination, her situation was actually getting worse and worse.

So even though Captain Chen's words were quite reasonable, Guo Ying's expression was worse than ever before.

But they are essentially soldiers with military status, whether they are assigned to the Presidential Palace Guard, the Ping An Police Station, or a military hospital. As long as they are soldiers, they must obey orders from above unconditionally.

If her master were still alive, the other party might still be able to advocate for her.

But the other party happened to be away, so no matter how unwilling she was, she could only put her mind at ease and follow the instructions on her phone to complete the relevant procedures.

As she walked out of Old Chen's office, she thought about her conversation with Chen Nan yesterday, and about the special status of Chen Nan's mentor.

Staring intently at Chen Nan, who was on the phone, Guo Ying instantly understood everything. Then, staring at her intently, she felt a sense of bewilderment for the first time, and for the first time, she felt a hatred so intense that she almost wanted to kill someone.