Chiron reached out and pushed open the bare metal door. Behind it was a small room, much plainer than Jiang Lijin had imagined.
There were a few workbenches, some chairs, and a row of monitors hanging on the wall. Two staff members standing in front of the workbenches turned their heads simultaneously at the sound of the door opening. One was a middle-aged male wearing a white lab coat. With slightly graying hair and thin-rimmed glasses, he looked very scholarly. The other was surprisingly a middle-aged female. Her hair was coiled at the back of her head, and she wore a dark gray uniform. Holding a pen, she was jotting something down in a notebook.
Hearing the noise, she turned around, her gaze landing on Jiang Lijin. Her look was calm, devoid of curiosity or scrutiny. She simply glanced at her and gave a slight nod in greeting.
Jiang Lijin nodded back in response, muttering in her heart: Is everyone in the Academy of Sciences this unfazed?
The middle-aged female withdrew her gaze, wrote a few more strokes in her notebook, and then closed it. She looked up at Chiron. "Is this Ms. Jiang?"
Chiron nodded. "Yes."
The middle-aged female didn't say anything else. She simply pointed to the other side of the room. "Ms. Jiang, please step over there."
Jiang Lijin looked in the direction she pointed. On the other side of the room was a massive transparent glass window—or more accurately, a transparent wall with a small door in it. Beyond the glass was a space resembling an examination room, housing a single machine.
Jiang Lijin stared at the machine, momentarily unsure of how to describe it. It was huge, taking up almost half the room. Its entire body was grayish-white, and its surface was covered in a dense network of pipes and wires, looking like some kind of precision industrial equipment. In the dead center of the machine was a slightly raised platform, just big enough for one person to stand on.
Looking at the machine, Jiang Lijin suddenly thought of the CT scanners from her original world, but this was far more complex, much larger, and a lot more intimidating.
Chiron walked up beside her and followed her gaze to the machine. His tone was calm with a touch of gentleness. "Just stand on that platform. Leave the rest to us."
Jiang Lijin looked up at him. Chiron turned his head as well, a trace of reassurance in his light gray eyes.
Jiang Lijin looked away and took a deep breath. "Got it." She walked toward the glass door, stepped up to the machine, and looked up at the dense cluster of pipes and metal rings, her heart pounding.
When she woke up this morning, Xiao Yi had told her that her spiritual power had stabilized at the 3S level and shouldn't increase any further. She had breathed a sigh of relief at the time, thinking that coming to the Academy of Sciences today was just a formality. Once it was over, she could take her test report to collect her money, get her assigned housing, and live a happy life eating fresh vegetables every day!
But now, standing in front of this machine, she suddenly felt a bit nervous. Could something go wrong?
Whatever, she was already here.
She lifted her foot and stepped onto the small platform. It was very stable, and a slight warmth spread from beneath her feet, as if it were heating her up.
Outside the glass window, Chiron and the two researchers had walked over to the control console. The middle-aged female sat in front of a monitor, her fingers tapping rapidly on a virtual keyboard. The bespectacled male researcher stood beside her, staring at another screen and muttering something in a low voice.
Chiron stood behind them, his hands hanging by his sides, his gaze passing through the glass window to rest on Jiang Lijin.
Jiang Lijin met his gaze and twitched the corners of her mouth, attempting a smile, though she wasn't sure if he could see it.
"Please remain still," a gentle robotic voice echoed in the room.
Jiang Lijin looked away and stood up straight, trying to make herself look as composed as possible. In her mind, however, she was already cursing.
What kind of crappy machine is this? Why are there so many pipes? Is it going to electrocute me? Even if it does, please don't kill me. I haven't been alive again for that long.
"The spiritual power test is about to begin. Please relax and breathe normally."
Jiang Lijin took a deep breath.
And then, nothing happened.
The anticipated sense of oppression never descended. There was no invisible force pressing down on her, no strange beams of light sweeping over her, not even the slightest sensation. She could only see the three people outside the glass window discussing something. The middle-aged female would occasionally glance up at her before looking back down. The male researcher's fingers danced across the virtual keyboard. Chiron remained standing behind them, his eyes fixed on her the entire time.
After about five minutes, Chiron walked over and opened the door.
"You're done," he said.
"Test complete," the robotic voice chimed in. "Thank you for your cooperation."
Jiang Lijin stood there, a bit dazed. That was it? She hadn't felt anything at all. She thought there would be some dizzying sensation or a feeling like her brain was being pried open, but this was it? Just standing there for five minutes?
But she didn't dwell on it. She jumped straight off the platform and walked toward the door, returning to the small room. Chiron was waiting for her by the door.
"How do you feel?"
Jiang Lijin twitched the corners of her mouth. "Not bad. I wasn't electrocuted to death."
Chiron was stunned for a moment before he chuckled. "It wouldn't electrocute you. Or rather, that equipment doesn't run on electricity."
Jiang Lijin let out an "Oh," then impatiently looked at the middle-aged female. "Are the results out?"
The middle-aged female looked up, her gaze resting on her for two seconds before she nodded. "3S level."
Jiang Lijin fell silent for a second.
That's it?
She thought they would exclaim, erupt in excitement, or have some exaggerated reaction like, "Oh my god! A 3S-level female is born!" But no, the two researchers, including Chiron, were completely unfazed. They were so calm that Jiang Lijin almost thought Xiao Yi had misjudged and that 3S-level females were actually everywhere.
After saying that, the middle-aged female lowered her head and continued writing and drawing in her notebook. The male researcher also returned to his workstation and began sorting out the test data.
Well, they were from the Academy of Sciences after all; they had seen big scenes before.
She reined in her thoughts and looked at the middle-aged female.
"Um—" she began.
The middle-aged female looked up. "Do you have any other questions, Ms. Jiang?"
Jiang Lijin asked the question she cared about most at the moment: "With this 3S level, how much subsidy can I get every month?"
The middle-aged female paused. The male researcher beside her also froze, the movements of his hands coming to a halt.
Only Chiron, standing behind Jiang Lijin, maintained a calm expression. He seemed to feel that this was exactly the kind of question Jiang Lijin would ask.
But the middle-aged female quickly regained her composure, her tone as professional as ever. "Currently, there is no subsidy standard for 3S-level females. However, according to convention, your subsidy should be based on the standard for S-level females, with an appropriate increase."
"How much of an increase?" Jiang Lijin pressed.
The middle-aged female thought for a moment. "The exact amount will need to be approved by the Main Brain and the Finance Department. But a conservative estimate would be between fifty thousand and one hundred thousand."
Jiang Lijin's eyes lit up.
Fifty to a hundred thousand a month? Just how many cabbages could she buy with that?
"Of course," the middle-aged female added, "this is merely the basic allowance. If you participate in the purification work, you will receive additional income."
Jiang Lijin nodded, trying her best to appear composed. Internally, however, she was already crunching the numbers: fifty thousand a month meant six hundred thousand a year. Combined with her one million in savings, she could easily afford to lie flat, slack off, and live a blissful life eating cabbage every single day, right?
Wait, no, no. Not just cabbage. She needed to eat meat, too, and fruit, and...
"Alright, thank you," she said, keeping her tone as even as possible.
The middle-aged female nodded and lowered her head to continue writing.
Jiang Lijin turned to Chiron. "Can we leave now?"
Chiron's gaze lingered on her for a brief moment before pulling away. "Let's go."
