Chapter 3

Xia Li cared about her test results, her amber eyes, so similar to Wu Ying's, fixed nervously on her, as if afraid of bad news. Though she had been disappointed countless times already, she still wanted to hear something good from Wu Ying's lips. She wanted her son to continue his studies, at least earn some qualification, at least become a worker like his father.

Wu Ying reported the results coldly. Xia Li didn't mind her attitude—a cold face was just their daily norm at home. She was disappointed for a moment at the E-level, but the result, while disappointing, was hardly unexpected.

"Did you tell the researcher you want to get married as soon as possible?"

That was what she really cared about, wasn't it? Wu Ying took a deep breath, reminding herself this was just a stranger; no need to get angry, no need to waste her emotions. Calming down, she nodded vaguely to fob her off, then turned and grabbed a bottle of nutrient solution before heading to her room.

As soon as she was inside, Wu Ying threw a flurry of cat punches at the air, then collapsed into a chair in defeat, pouting. The moment her lips moved, tears streamed down her face.

She hated that woman outside. She felt no love from her, only naked exploitation. Maybe to them it was perfectly normal—even most people in the protected zone planned things this way. But she was angry. That kind of pure, harmless exploitation made her feel so powerless.

Wu Ying wanted to lash out at her, yet she also felt the woman was innocent. But wasn't she innocent too? She had been living happily in her own home, loving life, loving herself—she was the real victim here.

Her mind in a jumble, Wu Ying eventually fell asleep. When she woke up hungry, it was already two in the morning.

She crawled out of bed, fumbling on the mattress for the nutrient solution she might have left there. Staring at the pink bottle in her hand, she downed it with a blank face—strawberry flavor, full of artificial sweetener.

Disgusting.

Wu Ying cursed inwardly. How long had she been here? Her good qualities were already slipping away bit by bit. Just today alone, she'd lost count of how many times she'd insulted people and the world in her head.

She hadn't said anything out loud, but the inner hostility was real. What was she supposed to do?

The moonlight outside was pure white, but it couldn't reach her. She hugged her knees to her chest, curling into a tiny ball. She thought that even if the moonlight did reach her, it wouldn't help—because this was a fake man-made moon, and it didn't have the gentleness of her hometown...

But time didn't stop for anyone.

Before receiving news from the research institute, Wu Ying started trying to train her mental power: focus, imagine a blade in the air, then thrust it into an enemy's body... Hmm? At that thought, Wu Ying frowned, her concentration instantly shattered.

The image was too bloody; she couldn't bear to look and averted her eyes. She trained for a while, but it seemed all for nothing. She'd drunk the inducer and nutrient solution the researcher gave her, and felt nothing.

If before she'd only been neutral to the idea of marriage, now she was actively finding reasons for it: at worst, it meant one more indifferent roommate. And if the other party happened to be decent-looking, she wouldn't mind exercising her legal rights.

Wu Ying scoured through a lot of information on marriage law. She found that besides the government's marriage fund, there were many other human-friendly policies. For instance, once married, the spouse legally enjoyed all benefits except work-related authority—security clearance, economic credit rating, etc.—and in case of divorce, the advantaged party had to pay alimony based on the current standard of living. Also, protections against domestic violence were extremely strict.

The overall trend was to protect family integrity and harmony. Wu Ying could see the lawmakers' intent behind many policies. Connecting the dots, it seemed there had been several serious awakened-ones riots at some point in history, eventually traced back to the awakened ones' miserable childhoods and disastrous family environments.

To ensure social stability, the government had introduced many policies to encourage awakened ones to form families and maintain harmony. All in all, as someone with nothing, the benefits seemed to outweigh the costs.

After a day of training, Wu Ying just felt ridiculous.

By all logic, she should have had a golden finger, right? Where was her mental power? No, wait—by logic, she should have discovered at the test that she had mental power, and top-tier at that, like that famous 3S commander.

"Ahh—"

Wu Ying lay flat on the floor, face twisted, arms and legs flailing wildly in the air, then collapsed into a limp pancake.

Maybe she was just too ordinary. Protagonists were either those who suffered hardship and fought hard, or those blessed with extraordinary talent. Her? What did she have?

An ordinary, warm family, an ordinary, content personality, no particular hobbies or dreams—her biggest wish was to graduate, leech off her parents, open a flower shop, and live a peaceful, ordinary retirement life.

Oh, so why was she here?

Wu Ying walked to the mirror and stared at the unfamiliar face, lost in thought. Amber almond-shaped eyes showed confusion, delicate features, rosy lips, white teeth, a small, straight nose—like a doll in a shop window. For a moment, she seemed to see Xia Li, endlessly cleaning outside—numb, expressionless, like a pearl covered in dust, not a spark of life.

The delicate doll in the mirror suddenly moved. She wrinkled her nose, raised a hand to mess up her hair, and in an instant, the reflection became Wu Ying again. A breeze rippled across a lake's surface, like the ripples in her glossy eyes—clean, clear, both pure and alluring.

"Wu Ying, what were you doing just now?"

Xia Li's voice came from outside the door. Wu Ying's eyes dimmed. Why didn't she ask earlier?

Wu Ying cracked the door open a sliver. Xia Li's makeup was neat, her face as calm as ever. "I'm fine."

Hearing that, she nodded and turned to leave. Wu Ying bit her lip, hesitated, then called out in a low voice, tinged with timidity, "You... why didn't you come ask me earlier?"

It made no sense—she didn't even regard them as her parents—but the moment she found herself in this environment, she still felt wronged, for the sake of the little girl who had disappeared from her body.

Xia Li's expression shifted slightly, as if she truly didn't understand. What could possibly happen in the protected zone? "I was cleaning. What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

Hearing that, Wu Ying felt even worse. Was cleaning more important than her own daughter?

Over the next few days, Wu Ying grabbed a few bottles of nutrient solution and didn't leave the house. She didn't want to face those people outside.

Were they all emotionally deficient? She couldn't help but doubt the Federal Government's series of family harmony programs. Looked like the results were just that.

With nothing to do, people really did get sick from idleness. Most people in the protected zone were like that—no work, no entertainment, just one nutrient solution a day, waiting from day to night.

Wu Ying spent a long time browsing the interstellar web, wanting to learn as much as possible about this society. She also tried high-tech shopping—holographic shopping was very convenient, but unfortunately, she had no money.

More importantly, she noticed that not only were people in real life cold-faced, but even online, few were lively or humorous. Every post was about war or technology, and not a single reply made a joke.

Where were all those people who promised to be internet friends in the next life?!

So that's how people in the protected zone lost their vitality. Wu Ying almost forgave everyone.

"Wu Ying! Wu Ying! Come quick! There's a call for you! From the research institute, hurry!"

Xia Li's urgent voice mixed with banging on the door. Wu Ying sat up in bed instantly. This was something new.

"Oh, coming."

"Hello."

Wu Ying picked up an old-fashioned phone. She didn't know the exact principle, but it looked just like one.

"Hello, this is Ivy. Sorry for the emergency call, but you didn't reply to my message on your Light Brain. Please apologize to your family for me."

Ivy's calm, polite voice came through the receiver. Wu Ying thought lazily—not urgent, then, if she had time for diplomatic niceties.

"Here's the thing: your genetic match results are out. In one marriage proposal, your Compatibility Rate with another matched individual reached 99.99%. You should know that this figure far exceeds the highest in history. The institute's recommendation is that you agree to this marriage proposal. Of course, we're only suggesting."

Record-breaking? Wu Ying didn't know. Ivy continued explaining over the phone that higher gene compatibility meant they were more suited for each other, and listed benefits. Wu Ying's head ached. If that were really true, why was society still so cold? Did genes delete friendliness and warmth?

"Does this proposal only need my consent?"

Wu Ying cut her off and asked the most critical question. She accepted the marriage idea, but she wanted to think carefully about the partner.

There was a pause on the line. Didn't sound good.

"We're currently communicating with the other matched party. If you agree, we can arrange a meeting for you."

"If I agree and then don't like him, can I terminate the marriage proposal?"

After Wu Ying spoke, her hand was tugged by Xia Li, who stood nearby with a disapproving look. Wu Ying ignored her and waited calmly for the reply.

"Yes, you can."

"Alright. I'll review the marriage proposal then."

Ivy suppressed her excitement, hung up, and walked to the director's office. The middle-aged man in a white coat there looked at her seriously.

Wu Ying had no idea that the marriage proposal she'd matched had become the most important thing at the Gene Research Institute over the past few days.

Commander Asher's genes had been in the matching database for years, but only with Wu Ying had the Compatibility Rate reached the passing line—even astonishingly, nearly perfect.

This marriage proposal might become a crucial breakthrough in their genetic research. They racked their brains wondering why an E-level mental power user like Wu Ying could have such a high compatibility with the 3S commander, but it once again proved that genes and mental power had no absolute correlation.

"Finally, one side is making progress."

The director rubbed his brow in frustration. Both matched parties had been hard to reach; it had scared him. Wu Ying didn't reply to Light Brain messages, so he'd pulled some strings to contact her via emergency phone. The other side was even harder.

Asher·Siser, the highest commander of the Fourth Military District, was still on the battlefield. He'd contacted the military's top brass, and they also hoped the commander would accept the proposal, but the commander's family had flatly refused.

In the past few days, he'd received several pressure-filled calls, all questioning the proposal—whether he'd been bribed or tampered with, some even telling him to cancel or void it outright.

No one seemed to think Asher himself would accept it. Even the military side only said they'd try to persuade the commander.

The commander's family held significant positions in the Federation, and they naturally feared that a mental-power waste like Wu Ying would drag him down. If it affected their offspring, that would be a capital crime.