Chapter 73

Huang Xianming couldn't bring himself to say anything harsh to these elderly folks. He could only say, "It's true, I saw it with my own eyes. The fact that they cured mental pollution is also true. As for who did it and where... you should ask Professor Jiang; he might know more."

The three professors looked at each other in bewilderment.

What does this have to do with Professor Jiang?

He was the calmest when he received the news, looking completely uninterested, and he didn't come along.

Huang Xianming laughed and said, "Because that mutant is Professor Jiang's daughter."

*

All told, Jiang Shan has only been at the research institute for a little over a month.

He hasn't figured out many things yet. As for matters that have attracted the urgent attention of several professors, he always adheres to the principle of not getting involved. He'll just wait until things have settled down before listening to a summary.

Therefore, when Professor Yang and the others went to find Huang Xianming, Jiang Shan still maintained an attitude of indifference.

Until the three professors returned—

Professor Ning's words were dripping with sarcasm. "Professor Jiang, that's not fair of you. You didn't even tell us old comrades about something like this."

Jiang Shan was taken aback, put down his pen and paper, and asked, "Professor Ning, what do you mean?"

Professor Shen exclaimed, "Oh dear, Professor Jiang, please stop hiding it from us. We understand your desire to keep it a secret, but now that everyone knows, please call her over quickly. We're waiting to ask her some questions."

Jiang Shan frowned.

His first thought was—could it be that someone has discovered what's inside his daughter's head?

But then I thought about it again and realized it was impossible.

They kept this a secret from their family; there's no way anyone could know.

Seeing his reaction, Professor Yang asked suspiciously, "Professor Jiang, don't tell me you don't know your daughter is a mental mutant in the treatment field."

Jiang Shan could no longer hide his surprise, and a look of astonishment appeared on his face.

—A mental mutant targeted for treatment?

Isn't that the kind of mutant that's as rare as a giant panda—no, even more precious than a giant panda?!

As soon as Jiang Zhi sat down, she was called over to several elderly professors.

Jiang Shu was afraid something might happen to his sister, so he insisted on going with her.

When she arrived, she saw the gentle and kind expressions of the professors, and compared them to her father's furrowed brows, Jiang Zhi secretly groaned in her heart.

Although I knew long ago that my life would not be peaceful after revealing my superpowers, I still couldn't help but feel a chill run down my spine when I faced the reality.

Upon seeing Jiang Zhi, Professor Shen couldn't wait to speak: "Comrade Jiang, I heard you cured Gou An's leg. How did you do it? Could you tell me? Of course, it would be best if you could demonstrate it."

Professor Yang, not to be outdone, asked, "Comrade Jiang, we still don't know your ability level. What level are you at? Do you have enough resources to improve your ability?"

These problems came one after another, like machine gun fire.

Jiangzhi didn't know which one to reply to first.

Seeing the pleading look in his daughter's eyes, Jiang Shan knew that the professors wouldn't let her leave without satisfying their curiosity, so he said to Jiang Zhi, "Zhi, what's wrong with you? Tell the professors."

Jiang Zhi thought to herself, "What's there to say?"

Professor Shen excitedly pulled out a small box, about the size of a palm. "Comrade Xiao Jiang, I have an ant here that's been contaminated by spiritual pollution. Can you...can you cure it?"

I've seen that box before; it's the same one Luo Yonghui used to store the mutated strawberry achenes.

Jiang Zhi hesitated for a moment, then nodded, "I'll give it a try."

Professor Shen was overjoyed upon hearing this. He immediately opened the box, revealing a palm-sized, dying mutated ant.

Professor Shen explained, "These are the mutated black ants we use for experiments. They've been contaminated with the mental energy of a mutated toad, and now we have people inject them with mental energy every day to keep them alive."

"I came to Hunan Province this time to find a way to solve the problem of spiritual pollution."

Professor Shen's idea was simple: since there were no mutants in the base who could treat mental pollution, he would look for other methods in nature.

There is always a mutated organism that can be used as a substitute.

If we can find an alternative to treat mental pollution, we can save many lives!

What he didn't expect was that Jiang Zhi would give him such a big surprise so soon after he set off.

Jiang Zhi nodded knowingly.

These senior professors are truly admirable for their dedication to the base.

She looked at the box in Professor Shen's hand.

The mental pool of the mutated ants inside was smaller than a sesame seed. Jiang Zhi didn't even need to touch it to know the extent of the mental pollution in this experimental subject.

She gently reached out and touched the mutated black ant. Her mental energy skillfully transformed into her mouth, swallowing the mental pollution on the mutated black ant in one gulp.

Professor Shen, suppressing his excitement, watched Jiang Zhi's movements intently, afraid of missing any step.

As a result, in less than a second, the mutated black ant that was originally unable to move was restored to normal and even tried to bite him.

The professors watching stared at the scene in disbelief, speechless for a long time.

Professor Shen was shocked for a long time before finally muttering, "If Old Yan were here, he would be overjoyed..."

In the next second, Professor Yang had already envisioned several related research projects in his mind.

For example, you could use special ores to store the supernatural power released by ginger branches to create a large healing chamber, or you could fuse the supernatural power of ginger branches into ores to create a defensive device...

Professor Yang was extremely excited: "Comrade Xiao Jiangzhi, I have a few projects here, see if you're interested..."

Upon hearing this, Professor Shen immediately snapped out of his reverie. He frowned and said, "Professor Yang, you still have a bunch of projects that haven't been completed yet. Can you handle them all? Besides, Comrade Xiao Jiang's special ability is a better fit for my research project. Comrade Xiao Jiang, would you be willing to join our mutant organism research group?"

Jiang Zhi:......

The professors' style has changed a bit too quickly.

Before she could speak, Professor Ning, who hadn't said a word, launched into a tirade against Professor Yang and Professor Shen with a stern face: "You two, the young lady just finished her work and hasn't even had a chance to rest yet, don't you know how to let her rest for a while? You're shameless old men!"

The two professors were speechless after being rebuked.

After finishing his rant, Professor Ning turned to Jiang Zhi, his face overflowing with affection for the younger generation: "Comrade Jiang, how have you been adjusting these past few days? Are you keeping up with the pace of the group?"

His expression and attitude left the other two professors speechless—was this still the same grumpy, nitpicky old man they knew?

Jiang Zhi made an "uh" sound and glanced at her father.

If she hadn't known it was impossible, she would have thought Professor Ning was possessed.

Seeing that Jiang Shan didn't respond, he finally replied, "It's alright..."

Professor Ning nodded. "That's fine then."

Then, changing the subject, she said, "Jiang girl, I think Captain Luo's car is a bit small. It's not very convenient for a girl like you. Why don't you come to your dad's place? Our cars are less crowded and more spacious. Besides, your dad and I have a good relationship, so he can help out."

Professor Shen and Professor Yang's expressions changed immediately upon hearing this—this old Ning is unpredictable! Is he trying to poach someone?!

Professor Yang said unhappily, "Old Ning, we also have a good relationship with Professor Jiang. Why are you only talking about yourself?"

Professor Shen also said, "That's right, we're on the same team, Professor Ning, don't try anything funny."

Professor Yang, who had been looking at Professor Ning with dissatisfaction just a moment ago, turned to Jiang Zhi and smiled gently, saying, "However, Professor Ning is right. Captain Luo's car is indeed too narrow. It's good for you to come over here."

Professor Shen nodded repeatedly: "Yes, yes, Professor Yang is right."

Seeing this scene, Jiang Shan couldn't help but recall the year his daughter finished her college entrance exams, when professors from various universities came to his home to compete for her like this, and he couldn't help but want to laugh.

"Professors, Azhi came along this time for training. If she came here, she wouldn't achieve her goal."

Professor Ning looked at him disapprovingly: "I told you you were heartless, didn't I? You're a girl, how can you bear to make her suffer like this?"

He looked at Jiang Zhi gently and coaxed her, "We also have Captain Lin here. He's very skilled in using mental energy. If you come over, you can learn from him and discuss things with him."

He had barely finished speaking when he heard Luo Yonghui's voice, "Professor Ning, Comrade Jiang Zhi is adapting quite well to our team, so I don't think there's any need to change teams."

Professor Ning's face darkened at the sudden appearance of Cheng Yaojin. "Captain Luo, I was asking about Comrade Jiang Zhi, not you. Besides, what are you doing here so late at night instead of leading a patrol?"

If he doesn't come soon, his team members will be poached!

Luo Yonghui's face was even darker than his.

He said with a forced smile, "Professor Ning, I've come to take Jiang Zhi back. Our team needs to have a meeting."

Professor Ning immediately objected.

If we don't snatch them this time, how will they ever get a chance to snatch people again?

"What kind of meeting does your small team need to hold?"

Luo Yonghui never expected that these professors, who usually seemed quite aloof, would go to such lengths to recruit him.

Seeing that the professors were about to get angry, Jiang Zhi quickly stepped in to smooth things over, saying, "Professors, we are still on a mission and I can't leave for the time being. I'll come over when I have time later."

The professors were somewhat disappointed, but still said, "Okay, okay, we'll wait for you. You can come over and chat during your break."

Even though Professor Ning was reluctant, his break time was coming to an end, so he had no choice but to let Luo Yonghui go.

Before leaving, Jiang Shu winked at his father, "You'll be worried later."

Jiang Shan: ...

The thought of being "interrogated" by several professors gave Jiang Shan a headache.

On the way back, Luo Yonghui kept glancing at his team members, whom he considered his most sought-after players.

Jiang Zhi: "...Uncle Luo, just say what's on your mind?"

Luo Yonghui wanted to be frank, but wasn't he afraid of scaring the children?

In a short period of time, he was robbed several times.

My heart was filled with unbearable frustration.

If they really go back to base, will Jiang Zhi still be a member of their team?

Thinking about this, Luo Yonghui felt that this wouldn't work and he needed to come up with a solution.

He said to the brother and sister, "You two go back first. Remember, if anyone asks you to go anywhere, don't go! They're all ill-intentioned bastards!"

After saying that, he hurriedly headed towards the soldiers' barracks.

The brother and sister looked at each other in bewilderment.

Jiang Shu gloated, "A-Zhi, you're going to be a celebrity again!"

This had happened once before when Jiang Zhi was the top scorer in the provincial college entrance examination.

Back then, so many media outlets came to their house to interview them every day, and Jiang Shu remembers how annoyed his sister was.

Jiang Zhi rolled her eyes.

*

On the other end, Luo Yonghui went directly to Huang Xianming. Seeing that Dong Mingyu was also there, he didn't mince words: "Colonel Huang, shall we have a talk?"

Huang Xianming also needed to discuss ginger with Luo Yonghui.

He nodded and said, "Let's go."

He gestured for Dong Mingyu to follow.

After getting away from the crowd, Huang Xianming spoke first: "Old Luo, you should also be very clear about the importance of Comrade Xiao Jiang's abilities. This matter needs to be reported to the base."

"So you need to take extra care of Comrade Xiao Jiang during this mission."

Luo Yonghui: "That's for sure."

Even if Huang Xianming didn't say it, he would have done it anyway.

"But one thing I hope is that the base won't force her to do anything she doesn't want to do."

Huang Xianming was surprised when Luo Yonghui brought this up. He glanced at him and, seeing that the other man was sincere, said, "I will try my best to put in a good word for you then."

But even he didn't know what the base would do then.

Sometimes things are like this: with great power comes great responsibility.

Huang Xianming felt that the girl understood this very well.

"By the way, what did you want to talk to me about?"

Luo Yonghui cleared his throat. "What I meant was, when you get back to base and submit your report, remember to tell your superiors that Jiang Zhi is part of our team..."

Huang Xianming: ...

He glanced sideways at Luo Yonghui, "Old Luo, your little scheme isn't very open. Comrade Xiao Jiang's situation is clearly better suited to me, you see—"

Before he could say anything, Luo Yonghui turned and left with a dark expression.

That shameless bastard, he shouldn't have even bothered with him!

Huang Xianming couldn't help but laugh as he watched Luo Yonghui's retreating figure.

After everyone had gone some distance, Dong Mingyu asked Huang Xianming expectantly, "Colonel Huang, will Jiang Zhi come to the army in the future?"

If you come, we can work together!

Huang Xianming laughed and said, "I'm afraid that's a bit difficult. Old Luo is very protective of his own."

Dong Mingyu was very disappointed.

"However, nothing is impossible for a willing heart. If we work harder, I believe Comrade Xiao Jiang will be moved by us."

Dong Mingyu's eyes lit up.

Colonel Huang is right. There's still some time before we return to Hui Base. We can make the most of our time before heading back, otherwise, when we get back, there will definitely be many people vying for an outstanding comrade like Jiang Zhi. We need to act first!

*

Meanwhile, the brother and sister finally returned to their own territory.

Chen Shaoting and the others knew that their team's precious talent had almost been snatched away by the senior professors again.

As soon as Jiang Zhi sat down, Hu Yang asked, "Sister Jiang Zhi, how did it go? You didn't agree to go to another team, did you?"

Jiang Zhi smiled and said, "No, my brother is still here."

Upon hearing this, the group's eyes lit up as they looked at Jiang Shu.

—The boss was right about him; this kid really is a lucky charm.

Jiang Shu was deeply moved when he heard his sister say that, and immediately decided that he would listen to Jiang Zhi more in the future.

Wu Bing feigned displeasure: "Jiang girl, if you have this ability, why didn't you tell us sooner?"

They were caught off guard, and such a talented person was almost poached right in front of them.

Hu Yang also said, "Sister Jiangzhi, you are amazing! You were able to eliminate the mental pollution!"

Chen Shaoting laughed and said, "I knew it was a bit strange that Jiang Shu always listened to Jiang Zhi. Turns out you're the one who's really capable."

Jiang Zhi was a little embarrassed by the teasing, "I didn't really understand my special ability before."

Everyone believed it.

After all, the siblings didn't even know what their innate special abilities were before.

They thought they had already struck gold with just a ginger tree, but little did they know that an even bigger gem was waiting for them.

Then, Chen Shaoting said, "Jiang Zhi, are you really not going to officially join us?"

Jiang Zhi shook her head and refused again.

She still didn't want to go on missions when her family needed her.

But after today, her thoughts have changed.

"Sister Shaoting, you don't necessarily have to join you to go on missions with you~"

Chen Shaoting was stunned.

Jiang Zhi winked playfully, "Just like Colonel Huang said, I can be an unofficial member. You can call us whenever you need me or my brother."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Shu immediately exclaimed happily, "Azhi, that's a great idea!"

This way, I can be free from constraints and still make some contributions to the base.

Chen Shaoting could easily tell that Jiang Zhi's use of "you" also included the military, and she sighed inwardly.

How come they can't retain such talented people?

Jiang Zhi laughed and said, "But that's for later. Right now, we're teammates."

These words at least made the group feel a little better.

In any case, they benefited from this search for supplies and got some really good stuff.

This trip has been quite fruitful. Furthermore, the discovery of Jiang Zhi's abilities has stirred a sense of excitement among the group.

It's a pity we were in the wild, so we couldn't eat the meat Er Shun gave us. Otherwise, we would have definitely grilled some meat to celebrate.

When traveling, everyone eats the dry rations they have prepared in advance. Unless they run out of rations on the way, they generally do not start a fire in the wild.

Chen Shaoting felt that there were too many things to do today and she needed to process them properly, so she suggested that she keep watch tonight.

Upon hearing this, Wu Bing immediately said, "I'll join too."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Shu sensed something was amiss and whispered to Hu Yang, "Yangzi, did Uncle Wu do *that* with Sister Shaoting...?"

Jiang Zhi couldn't help but prick up her ears to listen to such gossip.

"You figured it out? It's exactly what you saw." Hu Yang whispered back, "Brother Bing is pursuing Sister Shaoting."

The brother and sister: ...

Jiang Shu couldn't believe it: "How could Uncle Wu dare? He's so old, how could he have the nerve??"

Jiang Zhi was too embarrassed to say it aloud, but her expression showed complete agreement.

Wu Bing, who was standing nearby, overheard this and became furious, saying, "You guys are so rude! What do you mean by 'old age'? I'm only 34, okay?"

Jiang Shu couldn't hold back any longer, "Impossible! You don't look 34 at all!!!"

Wu Bing retorted irritably, "That's because of the scar on my face. If I didn't have the scar, I'd be a handsome man for miles around, wouldn't I?!"

The brother and sister still couldn't believe it, and Jiangzhi couldn't help but ask, "Then why did you respond when we called you Uncle Wu?"

They thought he was really over 40.

Wu Bing snorted, "That's because I'm not going to bother with you."

The brother and sister exchanged a glance and shrank back.

Indeed, if an ordinary person in their thirties were called "uncle" by someone of similar age, they would have already lost their temper.

Upon seeing this, Chen Shaoting burst out laughing.

She snorted at Wu Bing, "They're not wrong, you do look old."

Wu Bing wasn't angry. He touched his buzz cut and laughed, "It's okay to look a little older, as long as you don't hate it."

Chen Shaoting rolled her eyes at him.

That night, Chen Shaoting and Wu Bing were on guard duty.

Jiang Shu and Luo Yonghui, along with several other men, squeezed into the tent.

Jiang Shuyuan thought Luo Yonghui would ask about his sister's situation privately, but to his surprise, the group continued doing what they were doing as usual.

Before going to sleep, he used his ability to scan the area and found Er Shun sitting in his direction, about two or three kilometers away. His ears were drooping, his tail was idly sweeping the ground, and he would occasionally stretch his neck to look in their direction. His drool left small wet patches on the ground next to his front paws, and his eyes were pleading.

Remembering their previous agreement, Jiang Shu whispered, "Er Shun."

The golden retriever's droopy ears suddenly perked up.

This scene delighted Jiang Shu immensely.

You can actually hear it!

He couldn't help but shout again, "Er Shun!"

The golden retriever was so happy that it spun around three times on the spot, wagging its tail even faster.

At this moment, Yan Liang looked over with a suspicious expression.

Jiang Shu cleared his throat guiltily: "I kind of miss Golden Retriever."

Yan Liang was speechless and turned away, ignoring him.

After a moment of silence in the tent, Jiang Shu finally felt relieved when Yan Liang turned around and said, "I used to have a dog too."

Jiang Shu was taken aback. "Huh? Oh, and then?"

Yan Liang: "It's dead."

Ginger Tree: ...

He stood there for a while before offering a dry, comforting word: "Please accept my condolences."

Yan Liang gave a satisfied "hmm" and turned his back to rest again.

Seeing that Jiang Shu was confused, Hu Yang leaned over, covered his mouth, and whispered, "Brother Liang is actually a really good person."

Jiang Shu then belatedly realized—was this older brother trying to comfort him?

Thinking of this, Jiang Shu was both amused and exasperated.

After taking one last look at Ershun in the distance, Jiang Shu also lay down to rest.

He quickly and quietly said "Goodnight, Ershun" before closing his eyes contentedly.

Jiang Zhi, who was lying in the car, did not rest immediately.

She is also studying what changes have occurred to her mental pool and dashboard.

Since consuming the pollutants, the mental pool, which was originally only the size of a fist, has grown a bit larger, but otherwise seems to have remained unchanged.

On the contrary, the dashboard now displays an additional notification—

"Jiangzhi: Mutant. Physical strength level 3."

Mental strength: Level 6.

Mental Ability Development Direction: Defense 3, Healing 5, Attack 4, Precognition 5, Detection 3, Mental Ability 1. In summary, it is recommended to focus on developing healing and precognition abilities.

Note: 10 points in total.

Upon seeing this, Jiang Zhi suddenly sat up.

She was quite certain that this had occurred after she had ingested the pollutant earlier that day.

Could it be that those pollutants are a great tonic for her?

Jiang Zhi's heart suddenly started racing.

Jiang Zhi never expected that her act of kindness would not only help her discover the role of pollutants, but also upgrade her dashboard.

Does that mean that from now on, as long as she keeps absorbing mental pollutants, she can...

Jiang Zhi recalled hearing about Lin Yuan's mental damage.

I don't know if it's related to pollutants.

If there is...

Jiang Zhi felt increasingly lucky today and couldn't wait to have a good talk with her brother.

Unfortunately, the ginger tree was not there, so they had to give up.

She couldn't help but look at the directions for developing mental strength over and over again.

Ultimately, it was discovered that development in each direction required a significant amount of mental effort.

The reason why there are so few psychic ability users in the base is also related to the size of the psychic pool.

The reason why Jiangzhi's spiritual power can be developed into an all-directional system is because her spiritual pool is large enough.

However, her weaknesses are also obvious. She has no specialization, and even her best skills in treatment and prediction are only barely passable.

Someone as powerful as Lin Yuan has clearly specialized in a certain area, and may even have developed a second innate ability.

Jiang Zhi was somewhat envious—if she could improve one of her strengths, she could definitely be as powerful as Lin Yuan, right?

After thoroughly studying the information revealed by the dashboard, Jiang Zhi remembered that she still had a mental energy ore whose function she didn't understand.

She quickly took it out.

"Beep—Special spiritual energy ore detected. Can be used to link with mutated creatures."

The dashboard has indeed been upgraded, with more detailed labeling for special items.

But this effect...

After understanding the meaning of those words, Jiang Zhi couldn't help but widen her eyes.

The purpose of this spiritual energy ore is actually to be used on mutated creatures?!