Nutrient Fluid

"It's fine," Tu Ran said.

She had only slept for three hours, but now she felt energized.

"Didn't you remember anything?"

From the reflection in the elevator's metal doors, Tu Ran caught Xi Chunzhi's expectant gaze.

"No," she said.

Xi Chunzhi paused, then changed the subject. "Have you eaten breakfast?" She added, "You have a habit of eating breakfast."

Xi Chunzhi really knew the original body well. Their relationship was more than enough to call them best friends; with five years of training together, they could be called comrades through life and death.

Tu Ran had no best friends in her original world, not even a close friend who knew her inside and out.

Facing Xi Chunzhi's concern now, she still felt unaccustomed to it.

"Not yet," she said.

Xi Chunzhi gave a light snort. "If you don't eat, your body's going to give out."

Tu Ran pressed her lips together and said nothing.

The elevator descended to the first floor.

After they exited, Xi Chunzhi didn't take her straight to the maglev station. Instead, she headed to the convenience store at the entrance to the residential complex.

It was a tiny store, crammed with a scattering of items.

Xi Chunzhi picked up a pink bottled liquid and paid.

Outside, she handed the bottle to Tu Ran.

A bottle the size of a palm, with "Peach Flavor Nutrient Fluid" printed on it.

So this was nutrient fluid?

She'd noticed earlier that even in that tiny store, two shelves were stocked with nutrient fluids of various sizes.

It seemed pretty popular.

"There's a lot to do today, and your body won't hold up without energy. Drink it on the way—once we get there, there won't be time."

Xi Chunzhi glanced at her wrist communicator and headed toward the maglev station.

Tu Ran didn't know what they'd be busy with, but she trusted Xi Chunzhi's words. She gulped down the drink in a couple of hurried swallows and caught up with her.

They got off at the Administrative Building station.

This was the first time Tu Ran had seen the towering skyscraper up close.

Yesterday, she'd only seen the neon-outlined "Administrative Building" from a distance in the maglev.

Without the neon lights decorating it during the day, the building appeared even more solemn and imposing.

Stepping inside, the world seemed to bustle with activity.

People in different uniform styles rushed past, everyone walking with steady, quick steps. Some carried documents and wore glasses, while others wore combat suits and shouldered firearms, fully armed.

Not a single person cast a glance at Tu Ran and Xi Chunzhi as they entered.

Tu Ran kept a half-meter distance from Xi Chunzhi, crossing the lobby and waiting by the elevators.

They exchanged no words.

This was the Administrative Building, where surveillance was everywhere and AI eyes watched at every moment. Speaking less meant fewer mistakes; saying nothing meant no mistakes. Matters of life and death—Tu Ran took them seriously.

The elevator doors opened, and a group of men in black tactical suits hoisting guns came out.

Tu Ran's expression remained unchanged, but inwardly she marveled: indeed, there wasn't a single man in full combat gear who wasn't handsome.

Like that Xie Xu.

So handsome it was infuriating.

Yet, as they brushed past, she heard one of them let out a frivolous whistle.

The filter shattered in an instant.

Tu Ran turned to glare, but these people looked exactly alike, so she couldn't tell which one it was.

Suddenly, she caught a blur of movement from the corner of her eye. A figure flew out from behind her and kicked one of the men in the back.

It was Xi Chunzhi.

The man stumbled forward from the kick, and only a timely grab from the person beside him kept him from face-planting.