Chapter 7
Chen Nan woke up on September 15th. When she opened her eyes and saw the sunlight outside, she knew that she had successfully passed the critical period.
"Congratulations, child. From this day forward, you are a glorious Imperial Special Ability Soldier. Follow your instructor and make the most of your adaptation period. The Empire needs you, and all the people of the entire nation need you. Rise up and embrace your new life. From today onward, you will embark on a completely different journey. I am proud of you, and I hope that one day you will truly make me proud too. I look forward to meeting you in person, my child, my Special Ability Soldier."
Almost as soon as Chen Nan got up, a familiar voice came from the room's loudspeaker.
This voice accompanied Chen Nan through the previous thirty days. In the beginning, whenever she felt sad, the other person's deep and healing voice would always appear on the TV in front of her and on the radio.
"Yes, Your Excellency!"
Being in this environment, Chen Nan felt like she had been brainwashed. Anyway, hearing the voices unique to the Imperial President and Grand Marshal today made her feel very happy and at ease. Even though she knew the voices might be synthesized, or perhaps pre-recorded and played to all the awakened superhumans, Chen Nan felt genuinely at peace and happy.
"Chen Nan, congratulations on waking up. Take a shower first; we've already put your new clothes by your bedside. Once you're ready, open the door and take the elevator to the A2 Third Dining Room. Your mentor will take you to your first meal of the day and help you complete all the necessary onboarding procedures. By the way, your mentor is Captain Tang Ke, who brought you in. Until your future department is officially determined, he will be responsible for everything you do. He's currently your primary person in charge at the Superpower Institute. Also, Chen Nan, it's a pleasure to meet you. My name is Wang Linlin. You're the first superpowered individual I've trained, and I'm so glad you've woken up again."
After the recording of the Imperial President finished playing, the voice of the informant, which Yang Nan was more familiar with, followed.
Since arriving here, this voice has been with Chen Nan for even longer. Although the other person's voice has always been specially processed, sounding cold, Chen Nan knew from the beginning that it was a real person.
So as she picked up her clothes from the bedside table and headed to the bathroom, Chen Nan looked up and nodded at the camera in front of her: "Thank you, I'm Chen Nan, and it's nice to meet you too."
Chen Nan was in a coma for a total of three days.
After three days in a coma and a month of solitary isolation, Chen Nan felt that many of her thoughts had completely changed.
Suddenly, she seemed to have a sense of liberation, as if she had truly been resurrected.
She also had a strange feeling that she had finally survived a close call and that she was determined to live honestly and cherish her life to the fullest.
Anyway, she traveled from one world to another. Because it was so absurd and unexpected, she didn't feel much. At the time, she only felt extreme panic and unease.
Now, after spending a month alone, feeling like she was dying, she suddenly had a similar realization and a sense of understanding.
I took a proper shower in the bathroom and dried myself off thoroughly.
As I changed my clothes and dried my hair, I looked at myself, who had become several shades lighter after a month of staying indoors, and at myself, who was noticeably better and healthier than before because of daily exercise over the past month.
Chen Nan gently wiped the condensation off the mirror in front of her, her joy evident in her heart.
Of those infected with this virus, only one or two out of a hundred will survive. In fact, according to the official data concealment, it might be only one or two out of a thousand.
In this very place, in these high-rise isolation buildings, people probably don't make it through every day—they either commit suicide, jump off buildings, or are shot dead. When Chen Nan was lucid, she would sit by the window drawing every day, subconsciously observing the outside world, and she had indeed seen it all.
But Chen Nan could no longer concern herself with the fate of others, nor did she have the energy or ability to sympathize with or worry about them anymore. At this moment, she was genuinely happy to be the one favored by heaven and fate.
In this world, if you're unlucky enough to contract the virus and can't survive, you'll turn into a monster and be shot in the head by the government. If you survive, you'll be automatically incorporated into the country and have a completely different future.
This is what Chen Nan learned online before she joined the Institute of Supernatural Abilities.
Now, Chen Nan truly understands this statement.
The sheer thrill of surviving a disaster was enough to give her an unprecedented sense of happiness and fulfillment.
As for anything else, Chen Nan really couldn't care less.
Now, all she knows is that she has indeed survived.
"Could I be one of those lucky transmigrated heroines from a novel?"
As she walked slowly down the carpeted high-rise corridor, easily pulling open the door that she had previously been unable to open, Chen Nan, who loves to create, found herself lost in thought for the first time in a long time.
Chen Nan is very familiar with this tendency to overthink when she sees something, and to project her own feelings onto a storyline.
She was like this in her past life.
Seeing anything or any plot point would trigger wild thoughts, which he euphemistically called "creative inspiration."
But such wild thoughts completely disappeared once she entered the Institute of Supernatural Abilities.
At that time, if she still had any fantasies or conjectures, it would be that she would unconsciously think about what she would do if she really turned into a cockroach.
But such thinking is clearly wrong. It would give her body the illusion that she wants to become a cockroach, causing her human cells to gradually lose out to the cockroach cells that suddenly appear in her body.
Knowing this, whenever such a topic comes to mind, Chen Nan quickly reacts and shakes her head to stop herself from thinking about it too much.
It could be said that for the past month, she didn't even dare to have wild thoughts; both her body and mind were suppressing and controlling them.
But now, her thoughts have finally returned to what they used to be, and she finally dares to think about some inexplicable things again.
Smiling gently, Chen Nan looked at the sign outside and walked step by step toward the elevator.
"Hi, Chen Nan!"
"081591, congratulations!"
"Congratulations, Chen Nan. Don't worry about your luggage. We will disinfect it and then deliver it to your new dormitory."
While Chen Nan was waiting for the elevator, the elevator next to her opened, and three staff members in protective suits came out. For the first time, they did not stay away from her, but greeted her with smiles.
"Thank you so much, Sister Fang, Brother Wei, Sister Yang. Let's get together for a meal sometime, and I'd like to thank you in person then."
These three were the only three acquaintances Chen Nan had encountered in the past month. The one who brought Chen Nan snacks and afternoon tea through the door was Sister Fang from Gao Gao. The one who occasionally came over to clean her room and take away the trash was Brother Wei. The one who delivered the package her family had brought her, stood at the door to comfort her from afar, and asked if she needed anything else was Sister Yang.
Perhaps everyone was indifferent at first, and perhaps most of the time they spoke to Chen Nan from a distance. Even now, Chen Nan doesn't know exactly what they look like, and she distinguishes them by the name tags on their chests and their individual voices.
But at this moment, seeing everyone, Chen Nan really wanted to get to know them and also wanted to treat them to a meal to thank them for their idea.
She looked at everyone honestly and expressed her gratitude and hopes truthfully.
The three staff members were taken aback for a moment, then smiled and nodded immediately.
"Okay, let's make it up again after you start work!"
"Yes, once you log into the system, you'll find it very easy to contact us."
"Yes, once you get your phone, you can contact us using the system. Then we can make an appointment."
"Yes, now you should hurry up and go find your master, don't keep him waiting."
The three chattered amongst themselves, and Chen Nan had no idea what they were talking about as a system. But what they said made sense, so after quickly thanking them, Chen Nan immediately got into the elevator, which had already been used twice.
After entering the elevator, Chen Nan carefully pressed the button for Restaurant A2, just as she had heard before. Soon, the elevator Chen Nan was in started running crookedly, just like the first time she came here.
The elevator first went down, then left, then right, then up, then down again.
Just like last time, Chen Nan's mind became confused after sitting for a while, and then she stopped paying attention to the elevator's trajectory.
When she couldn't pay attention to the elevator, Chen Nan subconsciously checked her appearance and demeanor through the metal screen in front of her, as if doing a final check-up before truly meeting people.
A grey cardigan hooded sweatshirt, a white T-shirt underneath, black sweatpants, and white sneakers.
Her current outfit is probably the most common and popular style of dress among girls in this society.
Having experienced a twenty-year-long apocalypse, very few people wear cumbersome skirts anymore. Nor would anyone strut down the street in seven- or eight-centimeter high heels in a post-apocalyptic world.
In this society, regardless of gender, once people go out to work, they will choose clothes that are not cumbersome and shoes that are most suitable for running.
Facing the elevator door that looked like an electronic screen, Chen Nan, who felt that she had become fairer and healthier in the past month, subconsciously swung her long ponytail at the screen again.
In her past life, she found it troublesome and felt her hair was thinning from creating art every day. So, after some limited research, she cut her hair short to ear length, supposedly because that kind of hair loss is less likely to occur. As a result, after cutting her hair short, she kept it for several years.
It's been a long time since I've seen my hair with long hair. To look better during the live stream, the original owner even dyed her hair and permed the ends.
Anyway, looking at herself in the "mirror" now, Chen Nan feels that she looks good in every way.
"bite!"
Just as Chen Nan was admiring herself by tossing her hair in front of the "mirror," the elevator doors suddenly opened.
Then, the next moment, Chen Nan, who was tossing her hair and showing off, looked at her master Tang Ke, who was waiting outside, once again.
Startled, Chen Nan quickly stood up straight.
Seeing Tang Ke like this again, he was instantly reminded of their first meeting.
"hehe!"
"This newcomer is pretty bad-looking, though."
"They are quite energetic, after all, they are young."
With a newcomer arriving, not only was Tang Ke, the master, anxious, but the other members of the superpower team were also curious.
Many of the more outgoing people stood behind Tang Ke, eagerly waiting with him. But when they saw the scene before them, they couldn't help but burst into laughter.
"Hello, Captain Tang! Hello, everyone!"
Her face flushed slightly, but Chen Nan quickly recovered. Ignoring the earlier embarrassment and the laughter outside, she promptly greeted everyone.
"Okay, come on in and have lunch with me first."
In the two seconds that everyone was amused, Tang Ke had already calmed down.
He turned and naturally led Chen Nan inside, but when they reached the group of onlookers, Tang Ke, who usually kept to himself, suddenly stopped.
"Chen Nan, these are Officer Feng Gang, Instructor Han Zicheng, Officer Wang Ning, and Officer Su Yingna from our Third Special Abilities Squad. As for their positions and special abilities, you can learn about them gradually after you join the squad."
Unexpectedly, Tang Ke was very serious about introducing people. Three people came to watch the fun, and another person just happened to be passing by after dinner and stopped for a moment. Everyone was surprised, but they quickly stood up straight and greeted her.
"Hello, Brother Feng, Brother Han, Brother Wang, Sister Su, thank you for your concern. I won't bother you any longer today. Let's have dinner together another day. And please take care of me in the future."
Chen Nan's personality is a bit peculiar. She's the type who particularly enjoys quiet and solitude, and when with people, she's not good at finding topics to talk about and isn't very talkative. However, she can be quite talkative in important situations. When she's required to speak or socialize, she can convincingly portray herself as a very outgoing person. At least those who first met her, or those who didn't know her well, all felt she was a very outgoing and sociable person. Those who had known her for a long time, on the other hand, generally perceived her as quiet, a homebody, and not very talkative.
Anyway, at that moment, she immediately shook hands with everyone, said that they would all eat together in the future and asked for their continued support. This gave everyone present the impression that she was very good at speaking and socializing.
Everyone stood at the entrance of the third canteen for about a minute before finally separating.
After that, Tang Ke, who had only met Chen Nan twice, took her to the cafeteria to get food and told her about the Institute of Supernatural Abilities. When someone came by, he gave them a brief introduction, just like before.
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